Reviews of the play “The North Wind” at the Moscow Art Theater usually begin with a mention of Renat Litvinova and often contain only praises or, conversely, statements full of envy and anger about her, and not about the production at all. No less often speak about Zemfira, who was involved in the musical arrangement of the action.
“The North Wind” is a very interesting and original performance, which is often forgotten to mention, carried away by the personality of Litvinova, not only the audience, but also professional critics.
What is the performance about?
The play “The North Wind”, reviews of which are full of contradictions and rarely filled with substantive content, seem to some people underground, arthouse - a matter of taste. Perhaps this is due to the lack of a clear plot, time of action and reality of what is happening on the stage. Moreover, the production resembles the American film Groundhog Day, well-known to everyone, but, of course, with much more pronounced mysticism, tragedy, anguish and pathos.
In fact, going to the Moscow Art Theater. A.P. Chekhov's “The North Wind” is a Gothic fairy tale for adults, immersing in the same mood where the works of Hoffmann are sent. Minimalism in the scenery and costumes, blue spotlights and musical accompaniment only reinforce the unreality of events, causing the idea that everything that happens on stage only dreams of one of the heroes or the viewer himself.
The action takes place somewhere and sometime. Although the annotations for the play “The North Wind”, as well as the reviews, too, placed the production in the middle of the last century and placed it in Western Europe - there is nothing that clearly indicates this on the stage.
The plot itself, paradoxically, is full of dynamism, something is constantly happening on the stage with the characters. The action takes place around one family on New Year's day. Members of this family managed to get the "thirteenth hour." It is the “thirteenth”, and not the “twenty-fifth”, since the mystical connection of what is happening is made to an additional blow of the chimes.
There are two types of characters in the play - permanent and incoming. Those who come are members of the family. They fuss, do something, deceive Death and seek Love, they are sick and die, they live, they drink and eat, they come and go. In parallel with them, there are constant heroes who are precisely the main characters. This is Death, Love and the North Wind. By the end of the performance, it becomes clear and completely clear that the whole performance was just about them - about the Wind, Death and Love.
In which genre?
The performance “North Wind” in Chekhov’s Moscow Art Theater was ranked by the theater as a different genre, from farce to tragedy. Critics also did not come to a consensus on this issue, although the mere fact of discussing the genre is somewhat surprising.
The fact is that the author clearly identified the genre - this is phantasmagoria. Accordingly, if there is a definition of the author, then there can be no other options.
What is unique? Are there any restrictions?
The performance "North Wind" in the reviews of viewers and critics is associated with only two names - Litvinova and Ramazanova, although the action captures the spirit of the viewer thanks to the work of completely different people. The success of the production is the merit of each of the artists.
The scene employs more than ten actors, each of whom is personally acquainted with the author, one way or another has already worked with her, or maintains friendly relations. The play, which became the material for this performance, has no analogues. It is written off from specific people whom the author placed in her fantasies.
This is both the strength of the performance and its vulnerability, because it is impossible to even think about replacing the artist in such a situation. Each image was registered for a specific person, and in some ways was written off from the performer. This gives the heroes a unique veracity and realism that go against the overall mystical and fabulous atmosphere of the scene.
Gosha Rubchinsky created the costumes for the production , and Litvinova herself was engaged in the set design. The performance is listed as dramatic in the registry of the theater’s repertoire; this is also indicated on the posters. The age limit is 18+.
What do they say about the performance?
The performance "North Wind" reviews collects completely different. The only thing that unites most of them, regardless of whether their content is enthusiastic or negative, is an initially biased attitude and "emphasis" on the individual.
There are negative responses in which something voluminous is written: “the most Ushlepsky performance”, “I adore Kafka in the Gogol Center”, “I like absurdity and grotesque, but this performance sucks” and so on. When you read such statements, however, as well as completely opposite to them, there is doubt that the writers generally looked at the scene.
“The North Wind” is a performance that is greatly damaged by stellar names in its announcements and on posters. Of course, the names of Litvinova and Ramazanova attract the viewer, guaranteeing the sale of tickets, which are by no means cheap - the average cost is 10,000 rubles. But these names prevent the performance itself from taking place, influencing what they write about it, and forming an initially incorrect and biased attitude.
You need to go and watch this production without being guided by the “valuable opinions” left by someone.