ABOUT PERFORMANCE
Play “Lungs” is a discussion of a man and a woman about their reasons for having a baby. If you drive a car, use plastic bags, therefore contaminating the planet, how can you have children? What will die faster - our planet or the man’s and women’s relationships? Duncan Macmillan is a famous british playwright awarded with various prizes, critics’ favourite. Play “Lungs” directed by Kathy Mitchell was shown in Moscow in 2014 during NET festival. “The author of the play “Lungs” Duncan Macmillan insists on the minimum of decorations; there is also no division into acts or scenes in the text. When forcing realism too much, air dotted drama structure disappears”, - wrote about the play A. Dolin.
“Lungs” in the Theater of Nations will be staged by a young, but already very experienced director Marat Gatsalov, recent head director of the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater. Modern artist Ksenia Peretruhina was his co-author in several plays: “A Tale about what we can do and what not” at Moscow Art Theater (2013), “I don’t believe” on the stage of the Moscow drama theater named after K.S. Stanislavsky (2011), “HLAM” at the Center of Drama and Directing (2010). By combining in her theater pieces strategies for the discovery of time and space, which are so common in modern art, the artist has offered an unusual space for the new performance in the Theater of Nations.
Costume designer Alexey Lobanov has already very successfully cooperated with the director, he has designed the costumes and created scenography for the plays “August. County Osage” (2012) and “Teluria” (2014) by M. Gatsalov, which have been nominated for the “Golden mask” National award.
“I could be flying to New-York and back every day for 7 years and it still wouldn’t have had the same effect as if I gave birth to a child” - thinks the main heroine of the Duncan Macmillan’s play.
The 36-year-old playwright, whose plays have not been performed in Russia so far, is aiming to reflect in his texts, according to him, something that has not been said before.
At first, plot of the play “Lungs” has nothing particular in it: he and she are confronting each other, thinking about the possibility of having a baby. Suddenly, the “centipede effect” came into place - he is a musician, and she is a scientist, they both are way too smart and responsible to procreate without thinking about the global ecological catastrophe. About floating islands and the enormous harm, which every diaper makes to the planet.
Will they be able to stay together, will a child be born?
Later in the play by Marat Gatsalov monologues of the characters become shorter and shorter, and are not separated with minutes anymore, but rather with hours and years. The space itself also changes according to time, although the play is set in an ordinary-looking flat, but we all remember, that the universe can expand...
Duncan Macmillan, playwright
British director and playwright, prizewinner of various prestige awards. Author of plays that explore parental feelings (“Lungs”), state of depression (“Every Brilliant Thing”), climate change (“2071”). Macmillan’s text was introduced to russian audience during the play “Lungs” by Kathy Mitchell, which was staged in berlin “Schaubühne” and presented during the NET festival in Moscow in November 2014. At that time, in 2014, Duncan Macmillan wrote the play “Restricted Area” for Kathy Mitchell - a dramatization based on books of great feminists of the 20th century. The premiere of the play “Restricted Area” took place during the Salzburg Festival, and in May 2016 in london center “Barbican”. Texts written by Duncan Macmillan have not yet been translated into Russian.
Marat Gatsalov, director
Graduated from the GITIS Academy with a major in production. Author of multiple theater pieces, who often collaborates with Ksenia Peretruhina: “A Tale about what we can do and what not” the Moscow Art Theater (2013), “I don’t believe” on the stage of the Moscow drama theater named after K.S. Stanislavsky (2011), “HLAM” at the Center of Drama and Directing (2010). In addition, also works in tandem with Lesha Lobanov: “August. County Osage” (2012, the “Golden Mask” for best direction) in the novosibirsk theater “Globe”. In 2011-2012 was the founder and the head of the laboratory for young directors “Workshop on Begovaya” under the Center for Drama and Directing. In 2012-2013 - artistic director of the Russian theater of Estonia in Tallinn. In 2013-2016 - head director of the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater.
Ksenia Peretruhina, artist
Graduated from Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, modern arts school by Russian State University for the Humanities, contemporary arts school by George Soros Foundation. Her works were displayed at Tretyakovskaya Gallery, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, XL Gallery (Moscow), GMG-Gallery (Moscow), Espace Louis Vuitton (Paris), White Box Gallery (New York City). Worked as theater artist at Moscow Art Theater, Theater of Nations, Vs. Meyerhold Theater and Cultural Center, Bryantsev Youth Theater, Taganka Theater, Center of Drama and Directing, Theater.doc and at many other non-theater sites. Nominee for the modern art award “Black Square”, multiple nominee for Kandinsky Prize, laureate for the National Theater Award “Golden Mask”.
Lesha Lobanov, costume designer
Graduated from Russian State Institute of Performing Arts as Puppet Theater Artist in 1997, studied at Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography specialising as Non-Fiction Film Director. Worked as set designer at the Moscow Art Theater, Taganka Theater, Theater of Nations, Mossovet State Academic Theater, Alexandrinsky Theatre, Bryantsev Youth Theater, Novosibirsk “Globus” Theatre, Krasnoyarsk Drama Theater, Krasnoyarsk Youth Theater, Voronezh Drama Theater, Vaba Lava center in Tallinn, Russian Drama theater in Ulan-Ude, Center of Drama and Directing, Prokopyevsk Drama Theater. Stage-designer and performer of the play “Camera Obscura” based on a novel by V. Nabokov at Alexandrinsky Theater. Took part in creation of the play “Beware the white KAMAZ” as a part of “The Access Point” festival in Saint-Petersburg. Multiple nominee for the “Golden Mask” award.
Sergej Nevsky, composer
Graduated from the Moscow conservatory with a major in theory and got into the composition department of the "Carl Maria von Weber" College of Music in Dresden. Since 1994 his music is performed on international festivals. In years 2011-12 he was the music curator of the project “Platform” on the territory of the Moscow Contemporary Art Center Winzavod. In 2012 in the Bolshoi Theater there was a premiere of the opera “Francisc” by Sergej Nevsky (special prize of the “Golden Mask, 2014). Laureate of the first award during the Stuttgart composition competition (2006), of the ensemble Pro Arte and audience prize at the festival “Pythian Games” for the play “All” (2008), Kunstpreis Berlin (2014). Worked with Kirill Serebrennikov (music for the play “The Pillowman” at the Moscow Art Theater and for the film “Jury Day”) and Boris Yukhananov (“Drillalians”, Episode IV, “Electrotheatre Stanislavsky”).
Tatiana Gordeeva, choreographer
Graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography. From 1990 until 1999 was a leading dancer at the theater “The Kremlin Ballet”. From 1995 was a part of the modern dance project “Kinetic” by Sasha Pepeliaev. Since 2001 actively participates in the development of the “Contemporary Dance Center Tsekh”. Since 2006 is engaged in staging of choreography pieces. Worked together with drama theater directors: Semen Alexandrovsky (Taganka Theatre, project of the Jubilee Year Group) and Marat Gatsalov (the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater). Since 2009 - teacher of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. Since 2015 teaches “Dance” at the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts, Marat Gatsalov’s course. According to Gordeeva, the main vector of development of her choreography career is the exploration of how people perceive human bodies in terms of their structure and movement.
Lyudmila Troshina, actress
Graduated from the Novosibirsk State Theater Institute in 1977. Since 1979 works in the “Globe” theater. She is a subtle psychological actress, who can equally combine tragedy and irony, drama theater with solo shows. Among plays: “Forest” (Raisa Pavlovna Gurmyzhskaya), “The Miser” (Frosine), “The Triumph of Love” (Leonite, Gemokrat’s sister), “August. County Osage” (Violette Weston). For the role of Violette Weston was nominated for the “Golden Mask” (2013, 2018).
Roman Shalyapin, actor
Graduated from the GITIS Academy. Acted in plays at the Moscow Young Spectator Theater (“The Nose”) and the Moscow Art Theater (“The Threepenny Opera”), Vs. Meyerhold Theater and Cultural Center (“Hotel “California””). Participates in many pieces at the theater of Nations: “The Taming of the Shrew”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “War years songs”, “The Idiot” and others. Teacher at the Moscow Film School, Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė’s course. In 2014 was director, screenwriter and producer of the movie “Demons”.
TEAM
- Director — Marat Gatsalov
- Performer — Roman Shalyapin
- Performer — Lyudmila Troshina
- Scenography — Kseniya Peretrukhina
- Costume designer — Lesha Lobanov
- Composer — Sergey Nevskiy
- Light designers — Anna Tretyakova, Alexey Frolov