A theatre should carry its own aesthetic values besides just being a building and a staff of working actors. The theatres in Armenia have had nothing to tell to their spectators for a long time now and they exist only because they haven’t been closed and as if in a “coma” they pray: don’t kill us and neither bring us back to life. But in Yerevan there is a small centre, which is by its existence and by its director’s principles simply surprising. This is “Small Theatre”, on the stage of which the director Vahan Badalyan creates emotional theatrical masterpieces with modest means but without self-deception.
“Small theatre” has a rich work schedule. It doesn’t only show performances but also prepares spectators. And although you can’t notice this calling at a glance, it’s still very important. There are theatrical studios for children working at the theatre and they are full of kids with shining eyes, who slowly get the understanding of a good taste. They get such a professional and aesthetic upbringing that even if later they don’t leave anything to remember in the theatrical field, they will certainly become a thankful and knowledgeable connoisseurs, who will be very difficult to deceive with an official pseudo-theatre. These children know that a stage isn’t a game, but a serious work which has its hierarchy and rules. You can get such an energy from the small stage and the narrow corridor of “Small theatre”, which you can’t find in any other theatre, even if you add to all of them (all multiply them by) the Ministry of culture and the Union of theatrical figures. Every child gets an opportunity to find its place in this great life full of illusions. V. Badalyan does the greatest job while communicating and working with them and he shares his views and knowledge with the right addressees. May be the resurrection of the Armenian theatre should start from this place.
Last year the experts of “The Golden mask” festival came to Armenia on the invitation of “Hayfest” theatre festival and while watching Armenian performances they intended to see a fresh and professional theatrical breath to be invited to Moscow. This festival gives a big place in its out-of-competition programs to the search of new artistic forms and sends theatrical critics to CIS countries to find new and the best and thus it enriches the Russian spectator. “The Golden mask” found only 2 performances in Armenia that could be shown in Moscow in 2008. Both of them were staged in “Small theatre” by Vahan Badalyan. One of them was fairy-tale “Ofelia’s theatre of shadows”, and the other one was a plastic-pantomime performance named “Seven feelings”, based on the works by Grigor Narekatsi, which was staged together with dancers from Florentine and which had also video-cuts. This last performance wasn’t shown in Moscow, because Italians couldn’t adjust their working schedule to the tour of “Small theatre”. And so only “Ofelia’s theatre of shadows” went to Moscow. This is a delicate and touching story, which tells about a prompter of a closed theatre, who gets visited by ghosts of former performances, which live in her house and fill the last days of her life with the illusion of transient happiness. This is a dynamic production work, where the word, the sound, the light and the shadow are in such a balance that they inspire the audience with an incredible optimism. The performance was translated into 2 languages to be shown in Moscow and so it became a two-language one. The performance has underlined the majestic role of the theatre by preserving the Armenian text and the Armenian language seems to become a secret symbol which theatre-lovers speak. This show, where children are playing, is a professional work, which one can be proud of. At least the Moscow audience is surprised and enchanted by it, saying that they haven’t expected such a “European performance” from a small and unnoticeable Armenia.
– “The Golden mask” has also a performance fair, that is, it gives opportunity to tour. Is it possible that “Small theatre” makes money with its works and gets further than borders of Armenia?
– This festival is first of all very prestigious and it can be regarded as an “Oscar” in the theatre world. “The Golden mask” is not as much a festival as for example the festival in Edinburg, but a very big work. This year the festival was celebrating its 15th foundation anniversary and they invited the best performing teams of last years. Of course, the festival gives a chance to get invited from other countries but for me the most exciting was that people started to know Armenia from a bit different side. It’s a pity that in Russia everybody thinks that Armenians are traders or businessmen and they are very far from art. We managed to add a new color to the image of an Armenian as the performance was accepted very warmly, and it became a kind of revelation for the Russian spectator. Many people came up and said that they hadn’t thought that Armenians could tell a delicate story especially in a nowadays extreme life full of savage assassinations. It seemed that we were from quite a different planet. Many of the critics noticed the professionalism of the young actors. In Moscow we played in the Center after Meyerhold, which has an astonishingly mobile stage. Agape with wonder I couldn’t stop to getting surprised at the stage, the disposition of chairs, the lights you could change so fast, that it seemed you could do everything. Only the number of the lights amounted to a thousand and you could get every point of the stage specially illuminated at every second.
– If acquainted with your performances, one can say certainly, that you always find a resourceful way-out and that you get a wonderful effect in your nearly dark small stage.
– Recently we’ve achieved an effect of small headlights even by placing small lanterns in coffee cups. Frankly speaking it has its own fascination because the process of creation is interesting on its own. But if we try to stage a performance of bigger format this approach won’t work.
– It seems that all theatres in Armenia are asleep and fight by all means not to wake up. Why is it so: they lack powers or a desire?
– I looked on our theatrical filed more optimistically several years ago and then there came a period when I was very sad. Now I try to use a relative approach to everything. My opinion on the theatre, actors and the production process is absolutely different from the evaluation of the situation that we have today. And this is the reason why it’s difficult for me to find a room in this environment. And I always try to be not “inside” but “beside” it and not to get involved in the situation we have. If we look upon our life with a broad outlook we’ll get a sad picture for sure. May be this is the reason why I try to use a narrow approach and in some situations just not to notice some things. It’s better to get focused on a concrete work and get absorbed in your own performances.
– But now you’re going to work also in the theatre after Sundukyan. And this is exactly to be “inside”.
– Yes, I’m going to stage a performance in this theatre. I don’t know how it will turn. And though I feel that there will be difficulties, I am ready to run this risk, because it’s time to break stereotypes now.
– And what will the staged on Sundukyan theatre “Macbeth legend” be like?
– This is the same created by Shakespeare “Macbeth”, which naturally will have to go some modifications as you can’t stage a 4-hours performance now. I have chosen this play, because I got very interested by its underground: the legend which Shakespeare used. And all the performance will be organized around the legendary aestheticism.
– During our last talk you said that fresh and acute topics are simply to be found under our feet. Why don’t they get staged?
– Lately I’ve even desperately tried to write something, but I’m not a playwriter and if anyone writes a play I will stage it with great pleasure. The desire to speak of today from the stage has really got quite mature.
– Our theatres bring spectators into the theatre by buses. Several days ago, e.g., actor Sergey Danielyan refused to play in such conditions, because there were children in the hall during his play. Why can’t we refuse the “brought” spectator?
– It’s marasmic to get the audience into the theatre by force. I want to underline this word especially, because there can’t be anything worse than this. The person that was brought into a theatre by force won’t ever like to come there on his own. We don’t have such a problem, because our hall has only 80 seats, but big theatres practice this, as they can’t get full halls by other means. The attitude of the spectator towards the theatre is very worrying. You notice the difference between our and their audience at once in Moscow. I always get surprised at the theater-going culture and even passion of the Russian spectator. People dress in nice (not luxurious) clothes, get into a theatre’s building, and you feel it at once that they have come to enjoy the performance and get pleasure. Thus, the theatre serves its aim and becomes a leisure place. But if a person gets into a theatre by force or on some demand he starts disgusting this leisure type, especially if he wasn’t lucky enough and saw a bad play. If the spectator gets bored in a theatre then the theatre stops to exist and to be a viable art. And what we forced name a “medium art” can only distract the attention of the society. The medium art will never gather people around it. I notice a strange thing in our theatre: when we play people come as molecules from different corners of the city, enter our theatre, watch, speak, exchange news among each other and buy tickets for next performances. And so by telling each other they find what they’ve expected. I’ve been always convinced that this is how the production process is created.
– The problem is that we don’t have different small theatres. All the theatres are dull giants working on grants.
– There shouldn’t be a time for relaxation, age and census for enjoying one’s work in directing or acting. The director and the actor should prove every day that they still exist and can work. And it doesn’t matter whether a fairy-tale or a “Hamlet” is performed. Recently, e.g., there has been much talk about titles and signs indicating achievements. And there are null conversations and quarrels going or rivalry starting around this. It’s interesting that people trying to get titles or rewards think that when they get them, it’s all and they can sleep peacefully and they don’t need to get up in the morning and prove that they are professionals. If an actor doesn’t fear that just today he can lose his chance, he stops to be an actor. And we have the different situation; all directors and actors lead a well-to-do life, get a pension as a salary and can come stay without coming onto the stage for ages. I don’t understand this attitude, for me a theatre is an everyday-proof-demanding work. The people who decide on criteria are so absorbed in lying, that they don’t know themselves what is good. I can’t understand how can one come to a director after a performance, hug and kiss him, saying “it was a striking play” and then just a several steps away say to the neighbor: “there was nothing to watch there”. I can’t admit this approach neither morally nor physically.
– If you had an opportunity, would you continue to work with children or would you choose only directing?
– Now I would certainly continue working with children as I feel that I do a concrete job and see its results. The studio gives results and they become or don’t become students, but they grow to be theatre-lovers. Many people tell me that it’s not serious to work with children but I regard it as a very important mission.
– It’s not good that we have only one Vahan Badalyan. It would have been much better if we had at least 10 of such quality directors.
– The reality is that there are such directors. Our problem is in the choice. If I am a spectator and want to see a musical or another kind of performance, I should have the right to see it.