Dancing, music, confetti, and more

We’ve been in Moscow for over a week now and have seen quite a variety of shows – everything from a traditional children’s story to a hip hop operetta. Some of the shows we have unanimously loved, while others we have mixed feelings about. Yet I’m sure we all agree that watching shows in a language we cannot (or can barely) understand has been an adventure.

What do you rely on when language is essentially reduced to gibberish in its meaning? (Think of watching the beginning of the Minions movie… you don’t get much out of the text besides “banana!”). One tool available to us is the scripts and stories on which these shows are based. Knowing the characters and storyline before viewing the show can really help in understanding what exactly is going on onstage - when the show follows the original script or story. However, a number of shows have been altered, interpreted, and deconstructed so that even with knowledge of the original text the show is difficult to follow. What to do then?

Of course the body language, facial expressions, and vocalizations of the actors inform us of, at the very least, the mood of the characters. Russian theatre is also oftentimes very physical – dancing is present in many shows, and many ordinary movements seem to be in some way informed or inspired by dance. The physicality of Russian theatre is one of my favorite parts of shows we have seen here. In “Mitya’s Love,” the actors performed almost the entire play on a wall, balancing and swinging from pegs. (The strength these actors have is just amazing!). Along with distinct physicality and dance, music is almost always incorporated into the shows. Most surprising perhaps is the prevalence of western music (most specifically the song “Stacey’s Mom”), especially in the shows we have seen directed by Yury Butusov (“Flight” and “The Seagull”). Many actors have also been required to sing or play instruments in shows, and music is actually a part of the training actors go through here in Russia. In “Who Lives Well in Russia?” the female actors formed a choir of sorts, and all of the music was performed live - it was incredible!

The props and effects (as I’ll call them) of Russian theatre have also created some captivating moments despite the language barrier. I almost believe that one of the goals of Russian theatre is to see how big of a mess they can create onstage during the show. So many plays have involved throwing paper, styrofoam, water, apples, and other things all over the stage (and sometimes the audience). We have also seen many people climb and swing from ropes, and a lot of fog has been created. There was also a hamster that repeated whatever the actors said (or played on the saxophone) in one show.

So we have heard a lot of Russian, and understood very little of it. We’ve seen a lot of crazy and impressive movements, music, and effects… along with a lot of stationary monologues. Russian theatre has offered us a lot despite our struggles with the language. And at those times when it has only given us a monologue we don’t understand… we simply watch the people next to us to know when to laugh.