Theater on Pokrov under the direction of S.N. Artsibashev

The Russian State Theatre on Pokrovka under the direction of Sergey Artsibashev opened in September 1991. Among theater directors who belong to the generation of forty-year-olds, Sergey Artsibashev is one of the recognized leaders. A student of M.I. Knebel, a graduate of GITIS in the practical development of the profession, he absorbed the lessons of Yu.P. Lyubimov and A.V. Efros, who led the search for 1970-1980. He made his debut on the capital stage with the play “Hopes a Little Orchestra...” (based on one-act plays by A. Volodin, S. Zlotnikov, L. Petrushevskaya) in 1980 in the Taganka Theatre as another director and actor. Independence and a different view of the world separated Artsibashev from the poetic and political theater that Yuri Lyubimov created. But in Artsibashev he saw a man not only gifted, but also a professional. From the first steps in the profession S. Artsibashev created his Theatre. This concept then developed more as an aesthetic category, with the creation of its own “Theater on Pokrovka”, this concept was fixed and became the beginning of a new stage in the work of director S. Artsibashev, and in the development of the aesthetics of small scenes and chamber theaters. For the debut, one of the most famous plays by A. P. Chekhov “Three Sisters” was chosen, for the production of which the general cultural and theatrical baggage of S. Artsibashev was accumulated. The director builds the performance as a joint action of the playwright - actor - spectator, adapting the action to the participation of the audience in the performance itself, and to the perception of this performance by today's person. From the result, which exceeded all expectations, depended on the further fate of the Theatre, its creative handwriting and ways of development. In the repertoire of “Theater on Pokrovka” there is nothing accidental, one-day, the basis of its Russian classics – Gogol and Ostrovsky, Chekhov and Turgenev, Pushkin, Artsibashev and Tsvetaeva. The director reads into the author, creating another world - theatrical. Director Artsibashev does not seek to surprise the viewer, he just opens them - another Chekhov, another Gogol, another Ostrovsky, another Turgenev. Classics in “Theater on Pokrovka” ceases to be figurative and textbook, the heroes of classical drama become contemporaries. Modernization is not a way of shocking, it is another form of reading, when the director, using the entire arsenal of the modern Theatre, arranges a real feast of Russian speech and music, expressive faces, dances and everyday movements, pure spiritual overflows and virtuoso performance. The drama of unfulfilled illusions multiplied by fear is Gogol’s “Inspector”. “A month in the village” by I. Turgenev, “Marriage” by N. Gogol. Here the director crystallizes and sharpens another important topic - love-dislike. The genre of Russian classics, to which Artsibashev and his Theatre are so attentive, is difficult to fit into one definition. This is a subtle comedy game, and a bizarre grotesque, and the drama of human relations, and tragedy embedded in the depths of a truly Russian character. These are the quirks of theatrical aesthetics, which absorbed not only the ideas of the great reformer of the Russian theater K. S. Stanislavsky, whose system is so carefully nurtured by S. Artsibashev, but also the experience of the entire world theater. During the twelve seasons that the Theatre is in creative search, he made "departures" in the direction of modern drama - "Hopes little orchestra ..." S. Zlotnikova, A. Volodin, L. Petrushevskaya, “Shepherd” A. Maximov, “My Poor Marat” A. Arbuzov, “Sleep” S. Dalager, “Five Evenings” A. Volodin, “Older Son” A. Vampilov took a worthy place in the poster of the Theater. For S. Artsibashev, a modern play is not a reason to speak on the topical topic of the day, it is not a desire to succumb to the illusion of political scandals. This is again a continuation of the conversation – about a person, his place in life, the tragic and comical beginning inherent in any hero, regardless of age, place of residence and position. During the existence of the Theatre, S. Artsibashev was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Russia (1992), became the Laureate of the State Prize of Russia in the field of literature and art for the production of the classical repertoire (1996), the artists of the Theatre were awarded the honorary title "Honored Artist of Russia" and "Honored Worker of Culture of Russia", in 2000 the director and artists of the play "Marriage" became laureates of the State Prize of Russia in the field of literature and art. In the capital’s theatrical life, “Theatre on Pokrovka”, synonymous with Artsibashev’s Theatre, took a strong place. Today it is a professional team with its own unique handwriting.