Moscow will show the first in Russia performance based on the play of the German classic Heiner Müller "Cement"

Moscow will show the first in Russia performance based on the play of the German classic Heiner Müller "Cement" - a study of reality through the Soviet myth, antiquity and archetypes. The only show in the framework of the Biennale of theatrical art "Directing Lessons".

On November 14, 2021, on the other stage of Sovremennik, within the framework of the competition program of the 5th Festival "Directing Lessons", the performance "Cement" of the Novosibirsk Theater "Old House", directed by Nikita Betekhtin, will take place. The production was included in the list of the main premieres of Russia of the past season according to the experts of the "Golden Mask".

Muller writes "Cement" based on the Russian novel of the same name by Fyodor Gladkov - a unique case in world drama! The events of the play take place exactly 100 years ago - in 1921. After the Civil War, the main character Gleb Chumalov returns home and undertakes to restore the destroyed cement plant. The playwright rhymes history with ancient and Christian myths, examining the archetypal, unchanging foundations of human nature.

In Russia, until now, there has not been a single performance based on this play, written back in 1972. The director’s innovation is not only in the choice of material - he invents a new theatrical language, which can be called post-expressionism.

The aesthetics of the performance are futuristic. The set is made up of huge moving cubes that form walls, arches, stairs, etc. The clothes appear to be metallic, the color of cement. From time to time, the heroes freeze in poses reminiscent of Soviet monuments to workers and collective farmers.

"Cement" is a return to the theater of large forms. This is the study of eternity through the temporal and the analysis of today’s life through the prism of the eternal. An attempt to peer into the future through the mirror of the past.

Director Nikita Betekhtin about the play:

“The time of action is important for me - 1921. The text is reflected in the present moment, and it seems that this is an alarming prediction, a warning. The witnesses of the events of 1921 had no other opportunity but to be united by a common idea, such conditions were dictated by time. Do we have such an idea today? What unites our country, our nation? Who in our time will become such a hero as Chumalov becomes in "Cement"? We are waiting for a hero who will lead us, and while he is gone, "we are all in the grip of the belly."

Information and tickets https://urokirezhissury.ru/.

The duration of the performance is 2 hours without intermission. 18+. Start at 19:00

!! Attendance at the show is only possible upon presentation of a valid QR code and passport.

About the director

Graduated with honors from GITIS (workshop of Leonid Kheifets) and graduated from the Moscow Art Theater School (course of Viktor Ryzhakov). He is the author of more than 25 performances, both based on the works of classical drama and on the new drama. Stages in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Tyumen, Nizhny Novgorod, Tallinn and others. Winner of theater and director awards. Laureate of the state scholarship of the STD of the Russian Federation, laureate of the scholarship of the Government of the Russian Federation for young workers of culture and arts. Participant of theater festivals in Russia and Italy. The play "Mom, my arm was torn off" in 2020 was included in the "Mask Plus" program as part of the main national theater award "Golden Mask".

About the festival

V festival “Biennale of theatrical art. Directing Lessons ”takes place in Moscow from September 24 to December 13. The competition program of the festival includes performances by young directors. The extensive out-of-competition program includes a cycle of performances by Yuri Butusov, productions by Dmitry Krymov, Vladimir Pankov and others. Lectures and master classes within the framework of the educational program "Workshop" are conducted by Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Leonid Yarmolnik, Evgeny Grishkovets and others. The festival prepares several director’s laboratories. The jury includes the masters of Russian direction: Alexei Borodin, Yuri Butusov, Georgy Isaakyan, Evgeny Kamenkovich, Semyon Spivak, Valery Fokin, Adolf Shapiro.

“This is the fifth time this festival is taking place, and it has already taken its permanent place and is not going to give it up to anyone. And it is right. “Directing lessons” are needed by the young generation, and those who have long been called masters are needed by the whole theater. I am absolutely in solidarity with the authors of the idea of the festival, who are confident that theater movement is possible when there is continuity and continuity is not violated, ”says Alexander Kalyagin, chairman of the Union of Theater Workers of Russia, artistic director of the Moscow theater“ Et Cetera ”, about the festival“ Directing Lessons ”, People’s Artist of the RSFSR.

The closing ceremony of the "Directing Lessons" festival and the awarding of the laureates will take place on December 13 on the stage of the Moscow Theater "Et Cetera" directed by Alexander Kalyagin. The director of the ceremony is Dmitry Krymov, who won the festival in 2020.

The festival is supported by the Presidential Grants Fund.