It's no secret for my acquaintances that I dearly love small theaters. There you can see good plays in a good performance, without unnecessary pathos and allowances "for the name." A small theater on the outskirts has one more advantage - snobs tempted by theatrical novelties rarely wander there, you can afford a little more experimentation.

Therefore, I took with interest the opportunity from mosblog to go to one of the most classic performances at the Mel Theater. The production of Hamlet is fresh, less than a year old.

My wife and I just happened to be watching Hamlet with Cumberbatch two weeks ago on the big screen thanks to New Theater Live. Therefore, whatever one may say, I can’t compare the performances in my head.

Lead actor - Ivan Lyrchikov - artistic director theater. So in this Hamlet we can try to consider in general all the future performances of the theater. But we won’t do it yet, because the hall is pitch dark, and the performance begins ...

A very atmospheric start with a corps de ballet and a fencing scene successfully immerses the viewer in the early Middle Ages. The costumes, however, are not historical, but unusual and somehow stylistically old. Horatio and Hamlet himself are especially good. The color scheme is red on black. Fans of the Alisa group and Pankeeva's books will appreciate it :)

There are no special (palace, gardens, etc.) decorations on the stage. For styling, neatly placed here and there swords are used. Of course, with red handles. And the rotating tinted glass symbolizes the passage between the worlds of the living and the dead.

From the very beginning, I really liked Horatio (Alexander Tolmachev). Glittering eyes with a slight spark of madness make every viewer look around nervously in search of a ghost. A very realistic ghost phenomenon without the ghost itself.

Yes, I must immediately refuse to apologize for spoilers - if this word is at all appropriate for Shakespeare. They will, and, in my opinion, it would be good for any viewer to read the play before visiting the theater.

The scenery, clothes, accents and various details usually give the production its individuality. I have already spoken about the stage, costumes and a little about the details, I will say about the accents.

Ivan's Hamlet turned out to be tougher. This set off the main line of the character, showed the indomitability inherited from the father-king-winner in achieving the goal. Contempt for trifles, temperament and harshness. But the main monologues were noticeably blurred - the famous "to be or not to be" unexpectedly flies past the viewer, even insultingly.

[Hamlet and Horatio]

Horatio turned out to be Hamlet's more devoted friend and ally, while Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Dmitry Proydakov and Raul Taev) turned out to be quite plush nobles, and looked more organic in the role of gravediggers. However, in the interpretation of Stoppard, these characters are exactly like that.

I really liked the delightful Ophelia (Ekaterina Voronina). By itself, a great cast, and a great performance. You can focus on a narrow-minded melancholy girl, or you can (our case) play a pure naive princess. Even if not from a royal, but a noble family. Surrounded beautiful world with ponies and unicorns. And a fantastic acting out of a slow, with a smile and a joke, clouding the mind from grief.

[Ophelia]

Here it is appropriate to return to the details (I also include here scenes that are not in the classical play): the death of Ophelia is shown in a dance in which purification from the burden of earthly sorrows and sorrows and departure to the other world take place at the same time.

[Dance of Ophelia]

The corps de ballet is good in the role of a theater troupe: a spectacular dance number to perfectly suitable music (Saltarella), and a well-played performance in the palace.

I will add the metamorphoses of Hamlet's costume to the treasury of details. The clarity of mind can be easily traced by the number of unzipped zippers. Before reference, the suit is all open.

I liked the frightening spirit-raven-ghost that appears from the underworld at key moments in the story. A good idea, interesting performance. Only children are scared, but it is difficult to consider this a minus. "Hamlet" is a gloomy mystical tragedy in which there is a place for grave horror.

[Crow ]

I can't be silent about the shortcomings. Hamlet seemed to be in a hurry to pronounce his text quickly. Not only did I have to strain to make out the words, but the "sounding" scene and music sometimes made it difficult to hear the beginning of the phrase.

I sincerely hope that the constant movements of the characters around the stage (back and forth, around, up and down) serve some pictorial purpose. But often this flickering was more annoying than fulfilling its purpose.

I don't know how it happened, but Hamlet's duel with his mother seemed superfluous after the duel with Ophelia. Although, according to the plot, he definitely should be.

But the final duel between Hamlet and Laertes was good, spectacular and in its place. However, Laertes himself (Sergey Galganov) was not at all impressed.

Summary.

Personally, I liked the performance. I know how to turn a blind eye to roughness, but I got positive emotions, a bit of goosebumps and a little bit of delight. What I wish all potential viewers :)

Little warning: small children and patients with epilepsy should not go to Hamlet. One boy was so frightened of the raven spirit that he ran to his parents to cry, so that during the intermission they had to leave. And strobe lights can cause an epileptic seizure literally in the first minute of the performance.

The MEL theater is located on the first floor of a residential building, signs and posters are decorated in red and white. The foyer is quite spacious, there is also a buffet, where a pleasant background music always sounds. classical music and candles on the tables. The stage is small, there are only 6 rows of stalls in the hall. However, due to the number of seats in the theater, a cozy atmosphere is created.

Children aged from 3 to 16 are engaged in the theater studio. It is these young actors who take part in some children's productions, for example, "Cipollino", "Pinocchio", "Tom Sawyer". Children's performances take place in the first half of the day, adult performances ("The Seagull", "Suicide") - in the evening. hallmark theater is the presence of a large repertoire of dramatic works: comedies, tragedies, fairy tales, etc. There are practically no days off in the studio's schedule, work is carried out throughout the week. It should be borne in mind that you will have to pay extra for the photo inside.

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Founded in 1993 by actress and director Elena Makhonina. The first performance - "Medea" based on the play by J. Anouilh - was shown at the Edinburgh Theater Festival (1995), was noted at the festivals "Antiquity and Us", "Gallery", "Russian Classics". One of the founders and chief director is film director, screenwriter and playwright Nikolai Lyrchikov. Directors G. Shaposhnikov, P. Sergeev, N. Idrisov, M. Mikhailova, A. Soldatov also cooperate with the theater. Guest actors R.Ryazanova, B.Khimichev, S.Korenev, G.Firsov, A.Zaitsev and others take part in the performances. In 1995, the theater received its own premises. The repertoire includes children's and evening performances, modern and classical plays. At the theater there are 8 children's theater studios, in which gifted children (from 3 to 16 years old) receive primary theatrical education, the professional theater school "MEL o" K. Founder and publisher of the theater magazine "MEL o DRAMA". Laureate of the festivals "Young talents of Muscovy", "Art is my love", "Children and ecology", "Earth is the planet of people", "Gifted children". He regularly gives performances at other venues in Moscow and the Moscow region, toured in Sochi, Tula, Minsk, etc.