LEV DODIN / MALY TEATR |
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THE HOUSE |
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“The House is essentially a Biblical concept, like the Earth on which it is built; like the Heavens, from which fall onto it the snow, the rain, and the infinite rays of the sun; like Bread, which is or isn’t in the house. The construction of the house is a hope. Its destruction is desperation.
We performed this piece for the first time in 1980, more than 20 years ago, when the very concept of the House was fundamentally prohibited, running against the tyrannical rules imposed by the state. Today we perform this work not only in memory of those years, but because much of what imposed the tyranny is conserved in people’s souls, in their genes, and because today not only in Russia but all over the world, to defend the House, not in its sense as a domestic local but as a refuge for the soul rarely succeeds.” Lev Dodin |
30 actors from the highly acclaimed Maly Teatr company, with which Lev
Dodin has collaborated since 1974, and of which he has been director since 1983; take part in this 3-hour- long view of life in a village in North Russia in the 1960’s. When this piece was premiered it was an immediate hit, touring throughout Russia, and in 1986 winning the State Prize of Russia. It tells the story of a middle-aged man who has lived in the village all his life, during the war, being 14, he did all the heavy work, raised his younger brothers after his father’s death in battle. He loves the village, the life of the farmer, and has always fought to maintain high standards in the face of the growing laziness and dishonesty under the Soviet regime. A panoramic work reflecting the joys and tragedies of the lives of the common people, filled with music, it is performed on a set designed by celebrated designer Eduard Kochergin, who collaborated with Mr. Dodin on some 20 of his shows. |
PRODUCTION DATES
St. Petersburg, Russia 1980 Berlin, Germany Berliner Festwochen ’94 30 August – 1 September 1994 Glasgow, Great Britain 1995 Taormina, Italy Premio Europa 2000 |
