Russian theatre directors stage daring plays despite crackdown

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MOSCOW, March 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – In a Moscow theatre, an unusual
adaptation of the British classic children’s book “Alice in Wonderland” has
the audience erupting in laughter.

The musical sees Alice escaping from prison with the help of the White
Rabbit and travelling through a Wonderland that turns out to be a lot like
today’s Russia.

Nearly every scene is a parody of modern life in the country, from the
Caterpillar demanding Alice hand over her identity papers to the Queen of
Hearts imposing a ban on “everything”.

It is one of many bold performances staged in the Russian capital, where
contemporary theatre with a political twist is booming despite a recent
crackdown by the authorities.

“It’s hard to live in Russia if you have no sense of irony,” the musical’s
director Maxim Didenko tells AFP.

“If you took everything seriously, you could go mad.”

Didenko has staged several surprising re-inventions of Russian and Soviet
classics — many of them musicals that are elaborately costumed, humorous and
often have political undertones.

Speaking in Moscow’s Taganka Theatre, he says the play — called “Run,
Alice, Run” — was his reaction to the arrest of leading theatre and film
director Kirill Serebrennikov, which shook Moscow’s theatre circles in August
2017.

Serebrennikov has since then been on trial accused of embezzling state
funds. His supporters see the case as part of a growing clampdown on artistic
freedom under President Vladimir Putin.

– Courtroom drama –

Siberian-born Didenko is one of many arts figures to attend the ongoing
trial of Serebrennikov, whom he describes as a role model who “completely
changed” Russian theatre.

He says that even the courtroom is a drama in itself.

“It’s also a kind of theatre. You leave your coat, take a seat and listen,”
he says. “It’s like a performance.”

Didenko says that he strives for all his works to “reflect the reality” of
today’s Russia.

But there are topics he steers clear of, such as religion, which he sees as
“too sensitive” given Russia’s strict legislation on offending believers.

“I rely on my own internal compass, I hope that’s enough,” he says.

Boris Mezdrich knows the price that theatre directors can pay in Russia if
authorities believe they go too far on stage.

In 2015, he was sacked from a state-funded theatre in Siberia’s Novosibirsk
after Church officials complained that his interpretation of a Wagner opera
was offensive.

The production depicted Jesus Christ as a character in an erotic movie,
triggering an outcry from the Church and Orthodox believers.

Unable to find work in theatre for more than three years afterwards,
Mezdrich was recently appointed director of Moscow’s contemporary Praktika
Theatre.

– ‘Think twice’ –

Speaking to AFP in the central Moscow theatre, Mezdrich says his case and
that of Serebrennikov have made Russian theatre directors “think twice about
their work”.

“We speak in a different language to the culture ministry,” he says.

The “very strict rules” from the Soviet Union are gone, but Mezdrich says
there is a “new danger” from authorities on theatres, many of which are
state-owned or rely on state support.

Bidding for state money is competitive, with the funding temporary and
quotas set for numbers of productions. This puts strains on theatre companies
and keeps them under threat of funding cuts.

“This is useful in the economy, not in theatre,” Mezdrich says.

But he remains optimistic about the future of Russian theatre, saying it
has historically managed to “adapt to changing conditions”.

The Soviet legacy left a huge network of state-funded theatres across the
country that makes Russian theatre unique, he says.

“We have over 600 theatres that receive at least some financing from the
state,” Mezdrich says.

“There is nothing like this anywhere else in the world.”

– ‘Seen worse times’ –

Directors with whom AFP spoke describe a paradoxical atmosphere in Russian
theatre, in which pressure from authorities co-exists with a burgeoning of
opportunities.

Actress and director Marina Brusnikina says that despite a push by
conservatives for “going back to tradition”, Moscow’s contemporary theatres
are “teeming with life”.

“You can get access, you can experiment,” the 58-year-old says. “Even with
this terrible situation with Kirill (Serebrennikov), we are still working
normally.”

She conceded that “there is a kind of totalitarian ideology around” in what
she described as a “battle for people’s minds”.

But she says that that is nothing compared to the pressure theatres faced
in the Soviet era.

“We have seen worse times.”