"Kinaston": performance, reviews, content

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Premier in "Snuffbox" - play "Kinaston". There are autumn rains outside, the theater hall is covered with puddles from the shoes of the spectators who have come, umbrellas are hiding in the most unexpected places, which they categorically refuse to accept in the cloakroom. Quite a London vibe.

Finally, all the umbrellas have found a place to stick them. The spectators took their seats, the ramp lit up and the story began, which happened a long time ago in eternally autumnal London. The story of the life of Edward Kynaston.

What is the play about?

“Kinaston” is a performance, reviews of which are reserved. Enthusiastic tirades or negative responses are not written about him. Spectators who leave their opinion, however, like critics, choose their words very carefully. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the theater of O. Tabakov presented the production of "Kinaston" to the public, and it is difficult to speak badly about the master and not have arguments. Or maybe it's the performance itself.

The production tells about Edward Kynaston, the star of the theatrical London stage of the 17th century. At that time, London was literally obsessed with the theater, the popularity of this art form and its demand many times higher than today's television shows.

Kinaston became famous for his performance of female images, and his Desdemona is still legendary in the theatrical English environment. The performance also tells about the moment in the life of a star, when Charles II issued a decree obliging all English theater troupes to include women in the team and distribute roles according to the gender of the artists.

This decree killed many talented performers, although it gave the world many names of gifted actresses. The interest of the king in the stage was not caused by romantic stories, about which a large number of plays were also written and staged, but by the outbreak of an epidemic of syphilis among not only the nobility, but also the city dwellers. The spread of the disease was directly linked to the abundance of homosexual relationships, and the theaters representing men as women were blamed for the dominance of same-sex love.

That's it, about how the artist, who gained fame and income from the performance of female roles, coped with the situation, who had many fans and patrons, but never played a single male character, is discussed in the play. About how Edward felt about the situation, whether he accepted the king’s decree, what happened in the actor’s soul at the sight of some girl withstreets, about the internal crisis of a person who suddenly lost everything. About what happened - the end has come or something new has begun. At the same time, Kynaston was no longer young, and the global change that fell upon him coincided with a midlife crisis.

Who is the author?

The play "Kynaston" in the "Snuffbox", which collects generally positive reviews, is based on the play by the American playwright, the most popular screenwriter on Broadway, Jeffrey Hatcher. He was in love with the English theater school, with the very history of the development and formation of this art in London. And he devoted a large number of his works to the heroes of those years.

Who is the director?

“Kinaston” is a performance, reviews of which invariably mark the highest acting skills and directing, which determined the fine line between vulgarity and art, which allows revealing the most hidden and complex fractures in the soul of the characters of the production and captivate the viewer with them.

Meanwhile, not one person worked on the story of Edward Kynaston, but a whole team. What the audience sees and appreciates so highly is the result of a joint effort:

• Evgeny Pisareva - director and director;
• Zinoviy Margolin, an artist involved in scenography;
• Maria Danilova - costume designer;
• Alberts Alberts and Alexandra Konnikova – plasticity directors;
• Karlis Latsis - composer;
• Alexandra Sivaeva – lighting designer;
• Anna Petrova - Master of Speech;
• Lyudmila Ulanova and Margarita Bezborodova, assistant directors.

It was thanks to the work of these people that the performance was held, promising to become the most demanded in the history of "Snuffbox".

Who's on stage?

At the premiere in "Snuffbox" in the play "Kinaston" the following cast was announced:

• Maxim Matveev - Edward Kynaston, main role.
• Mikhail Khomyakov - Thomas Betterton, famous in London, but already an aged artist.
• Arthur Kasimov - Samuel Pips, aspiring writer, future author of The Theatergoer's Diaries.
• Kirill Rubtsov or Pyotr Rykov - Willers, Duke of Buckingham, aristocrat and theater lover.
• Evgenia Borzykh or Natalia Popova - seamstress.
• Anna Goncharova - Lady Merisvale, a rich lady, a spectator, a supporter of the introduction of women into the troupe.
• Anastasia Chernyshova is Miss Frain, a we althy marriageable girl who is passionate about backstage life.
• Pavel Shevando - Sir Charles Sedley, philanthropist and patron of the entire troupe.
• Anna Chipovskaya - Margaret Hughes, officially the first actress.
• Vitaly Egorov - King Charles II.
• Anastasia Timushkova - Nell Gwyn, mistress of the monarch.
• Igor Petrov - Prime Minister Hyde.
• Alexander Kuzmin – Thomas Killigrew, owner.
• Isabelle Aiden - Elizabeth Barry, aspiring artist.
• Natalya Kachalova is the hostess of the local tavern.
• Alexander Limin – Peter Lelli, artist.
• Nikita Ufimtsev and Anastasia Bogatyryova - the performers of the role of Emilia.

Many more artists are involved in the production, the so-called extras, that is, they play the roles of spectators, visitors to the tavern and residents of London.

How long does it take?

“Kinaston” is a performance, reviews of which have never mentioned how long the action lasts. Meanwhile, the production runs for three hours, filled with psychological moments important for understanding what is happening.

When going to the "Snuffbox", you need to have not 3, 5 hours left, but at least 4, because the performance causes an irresistible desire to sit down in the nearest restaurant or bar and discuss what you see, or walk around and think.

What are they saying?

“Kinaston” is a performance that began to collect reviews even before the first performance. This premiere was awaited by all Moscow theater-goers - both critics and spectators. Information publications wrote about her long before the start of rehearsals, and on the sidelines the performance was discussed at the stage of choosing artists.

Therefore, there was no flurry of responses after the first performance either on theatrical forums, or on social networks, or on thematic portals. However, the opinions and comments left are full of the highest ratings for the acting, magnificent costumes, impeccable plasticity and, of course, dynamic action that does not allow you to be distracted for a minute.