Theater is humanology, a chance for every person to see themselves from outside. But it is not a mirror, not an imitation but a deflection of life. Theater is partly a comedy, partly a tragedy; it is a teacher and a conversation partner. Theater can never be the same. It is the only art which changes every day and largely depends on how clever I am as a spectator and whether I can watch, listen, laugh, correspond to the level of performance.
It has been predicted that theater would die with appearance of cinema. A hundred years have passed, and theater still exists. As for the theatrical form, it is in no way related to the present day. For example, today works by Mozart are played three times quicker than they were at the composer’s time. And the essence of theater, which is to show the might of the human spirit through attitude towards man, does not change. The eternal form of theater comprises an intonation, a body, a thought, a word, a gesture. Thus, in my opinion, there is no such concept as “the modern theater”. Theater either exists or does not exist.
Stanislavski said, “If you do not come home and awake your neighbor telling him he must watch that, the spectacle was no success”. It has been a long time since I awoke my neighbors. Fortunately, I am a popular critic and travel to the regions where I can watch most unexpected and wonderful performances. Here I liked the actor playing colonel in the Butterfly performance of the Molodoy Chelovek theater. It is a very interesting and profound role and it was performed in such a delicate, subtle and, at the same time, disturbingly dramatic way.
I favor the classic theater but I also accept modern performances. A diversified repertoire is the face of the present-day theater. Lately I have become fond of opera and symphonic music.
When I go to the theater, it is important for me to learn something new. Any performance or act is a message by the stage director. It is essential to find it, hear it, read between the lines and get the new information. Such theater is needed, it may combine both modern plays and interpretations of classic works.