«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
Toronto
October 4 at 7:00 pm
Living Arts Center Auditorium18+
4141 Living Arts Dr
Mississauga, ON
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) is the enfant terrible of the French avant-garde.
The novel "Our Lady of the Flowers" which he wrote in prison was initially horrifying, but
then he admired Jean Cocteau, who opened the way for Genet into French
literary world. The play "The Maids" (1947) is based on the passing
throughout the writer's work the theme of individual freedom, which enters
in conflict with society and the conventions that reject it, love and
crime, beauty and baseness.
The play was first staged in 1988 at the Satirikon Theatre
«"The Maids" brought Viktyuk fame as an idol of bohemia and made him a symbol
a new theatrical direction. They laid the foundation for a style that
later it became known as viktyuk style – the refined lines of modernism,
the beauty and fantastic theatricality of the action taking place on
stage.
The production has gone through three revisions (1988, 1992 and 2006), was
shown in many countries, received international recognition and collected
enthusiastic reviews in the press. This is a performance with a piercing
The goosebumps of energy still can't be forgotten by the viewers of several
generations.
Roman Viktyuk staged Jean Genet's play following the recommendations
playwright: all roles in it should be played only by men. Director
created a powerful, timeless "theatrical ritual": the themes explored in it
the secrets of the human soul have no expiration date, and the stage
The longevity of The Maids is direct proof of this.
According to the degree of magnetic impact on the audience, scenographic
the precision and artistic perfection of The Handmaiden is one of
the best examples of Viktyuk's gaming aesthetics and a unique manifesto
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
each intonation works to repeatedly enhance expressiveness
image.
The actors' elaborate makeup (Lev Novikov), reminiscent of theater performers
kabuki, and costumes that emphasize the special plasticity of the body add
additional symbolic load to what is happening on stage.
Русский 
English 
