«The Maids» — a legendary performance Roman Viktyuk
based on the play by Jean Genet
Roman Viktyuk's legendary production of "The Maids" has been on stage for over 35 years.
And he still surprises!
The production is based on a play by French playwright Jean Genet. It tells the story of two maids, Solange and Claire, who revere their mistress while simultaneously being uncontrollably envious. In their mistress's absence, they try on her clothes, imitate her behavior, and act out entire imaginary scenes. One day, carried away by their playfulness, the maids anonymously report Madame's gentleman to the police and decide to kill her.
The theatre actors present this psychological drama using choreographic, plastic and vocal means.
And the complex makeup is reminiscent of Japanese kabuki theater (a synthesis of singing, music, dance and drama, where makeup carries a symbolic load).
The whole performance is a hypnotic show set to Dalida's hits, where the audience empathizes with the unsuccessful criminals and applauds them with admiration...
«"I think 'The Maids' should be played by men. Specifically men."«, “- said the author of the production, the legendary Roman Viktyuk.
And after what you've seen, it's hard to argue with that!
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes without intermission.
Events
Additional Information
Authors and directors:
Staged by Roman Viktyuk
Director: Alexander Zuev
Set and costume design by Alla Kozhenkova
Choreography by Edvald Smirnov
Make-up artist: Lev Novikov
Lighting designer: Anatoly Kuznetsov
Musical concept - Asaf Farajev
Cast:
Solange - Dmitry Bozin
Claire - Stanislav Motyrev
Madame - Mikhail Polovenko
Monsieur - Valery Mashnin
About the history of the play "The Maids"“
Jean Genet (1910–1986) was the enfant terrible of the French avant-garde. His novel, "Our Lady of the Flowers," written in prison, first horrified and then delighted Jean Cocteau, who opened the door for Genet to the French literary world. His play, "The Maids" (1947), is based on the themes that run through Genet's work: individual freedom in conflict with society and rejection of its conventions, love and crime, beauty and baseness.
First staged in 1988 at the Satirikon Theatre, the play "The Maids" brought Viktyuk fame as a bohemian icon and made him a symbol of a new theatrical movement. It marked the beginning of a style that would later become known as the "Viktyuk Style"—the refined lines of Art Nouveau, the beauty, and the fantastical theatricality of the onstage performances.
The production has undergone three editions (1988, 1992, and 2006), has been performed in many countries, has received international acclaim, and has garnered rave reviews in the press. This performance, with its spine-tingling energy, remains unforgettable for generations of audiences.
Roman Viktyuk staged Jean Genet's play following the playwright's instructions: all roles should be performed exclusively by men. The director created a powerful, timeless "theatrical ritual": the mysteries of the human soul it explores are timeless, and the longevity of "The Maids" on stage is a clear testament to this.
In terms of its magnetic impact on the audience, its scenographic precision, and its artistic perfection, The Maids is one of the finest examples of Viktyukov's playful aesthetics and a unique manifesto of his theatrical method.
The performance is a powerfully charged synthesis of drama, choreography and music, in which every gesture, every turn of the body and every intonation work to greatly enhance the expressiveness of the image.
The actors' elaborate makeup (by Lev Novikov), reminiscent of kabuki performers, and the costumes, which emphasize the special plasticity of the body, add additional symbolic weight to the events on stage.