It is an alteration of Shakespeare’s comedy “As you like it”. The song lyricist
Yuli Kim made it for Peter Fomenko (the friend he studied together with at the same
teacher training college forty years ago). Fomenko staged the play at
the Malaya Bronnaya Theatre, but the performance was quickly banned with the wording
"for hooliganism". Today yesterday's hooliganism seems a nice joke of
well-bred intelligent people. From the musical and poetic point of view the "Tale" is a
nostalgic retro in the spirit of Soviet musical comedies, from the content point of view
it is a variation on the theme of “the whole world is theatre»; it is full of faith in the purity of human nature and a small portion of poison for the authorities. The actors act gracefully, playing with objects and space, their acting extends beyond the stage limits and the audience constantly feels in the centre of events. In short, it is a typical performance by Peter Fomenko, though not played by his pupils, adored by the public and gently called “fomenki”. The leading parts in the "Tale" are played by actors from other theatres, trainees in Fomenko’s workshop, and they are charming. It means that “fomenki” is not a special breed of people as it seemed before. This property wakes up in any actor, playing by the rules of such a director as Fomenko.
Elena Kovalskaya
From the very beginning, Fomenko always reveals theatrical nature of everything happening, and existing, too. As he produces his theatrical joke about the main thing – the meaning of life. About its transiency and frailty. About the fact that only by acting, costume and appearance changing one can forget for some time about other really dangerous delusions such as power and worldly fame. This is actually a very Shakespearean technique. The comic characters of Lope de Vega and Moliere can match rigid theatrical lines. Shakespearean characters are rather tabula rasa which life draws different letters upon. Matter and spirit are in the making. These characters are not masks any more, but they have not become personalities yet. They are just going to become personalities. As well as we all are going to become people by playing our social parts.
Marina Davydova,
Izvestiya,
15 January 2009
TRAVELLING COMPANY
32
PERFORMANCE SPACE
200x200 м
FOR AUDIENCE OF
110 - 250
FRIGHT
70 m3
SET UP TIME
16 hours
