Театральная компания ЗМ
Nana Grinshtein

BEYOND THEATRE//AND WHAT IF I DON’T?

Teatr.doc, Moscow
Presented in the frame of Russian Case
Участник программы «Russian Case» Фестиваля 2016 года

Director: Anastasia Patlai

Set designer: Alexandra Lovyannikova



On stage there are seven actors who have, for various reasons, given up the theatre. Teatr.doc has given them a chance for a comeback. This wonderful idea has definitely come to someone in a dream: such humanitarian projects that help actors return to the profession and restore their self-esteem prove that Teatr.doc is a real cultural centre rather than a marginal venue.

It is indeed terrible when an actor loses the chance to practice theatre.

The seven actors share their sad stories about how they became androgynies without their “second halves”, angels with cut wings doomed to look for a place in life. At the end of the performance, the former actress of the Moscow Art Theatre says, “When I am on stage, I feel as if I was allowed to live again. The stage is the only place where I feel good.” An actress from Tashkent tells a touching story about her experience at the Ilkhom Theatre. Two women tell their complicated life stories; the fact they are actresses makes their experience even more dramatic. One of the actors shares his experience as a delivery man.

Documentary theatre proves to be an effective method for helping people overcome their complexes and becomes an instrument for rehabilitation.

Pavel Rudnev




BEYOND THEATRE//AND WHAT IF I DON’T?, documentary production staged by Anastasia Patlai, devoted to actors who were forced to leave theatre for time or for good. Self-consciousness, emotional stress and fate of actors who share their experience with the audience became plot of the show. The actors who perform themselves one by one narrate episodes of their stories. Sometime, someone of actors pronounce cues of the persons spoken of. An aura arises where people understand each other without words; they have a lot in common and their circumstances are similar.



Teatr.doc in the Theatre`s website describes the production as psychological and therapeutic. The actors perform at a high professional level. Though the play is based on documentary stories the actors still perform actors. The problem of a life-acting relatio, possibility to live beyond acting is one of the major keynotes for an actor.

Rabkor