In the Cultural Centre "Mir"

Everything is born of love

On 21 September, the Film and Theater Workshop will present the performance "Three days of rain"

It can be very interesting to talk about a production to an actor before getting to know it, to learn about the feelings and thoughts embedded in it and generated by it. On the eve of the tour, we met and talked to Nikolay Lyutov, a graduate of the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS), an actor at the Alexey Rybnikov Theatre that has played more than 30 roles in plays and musicals. From the inside, a performance is still different from what the audience sees and we have a unique opportunity to unite these visions so that after having watched it, from a certain afterword and ellipsis, we can put together our own story "above" what we have seen and felt.

- Nikolay, in a few days, you are presenting a sensual performance on our stage, based on the topics of friendship, love and repentance... What stands "above" the production? What is its message to the world, if I may say so?

- In our world, everything consists of love, the whole world is love and any topic that is raised is still born of love and everything breathes love. We live and forget about true love that is in us, in children, in manifestations, in deeds. We succumb to some mercantile goals that prevent us from living. And this story is about the very love that is true. And not covered by anything. Or even covered, but the main thing is not to forget about it, about love.

- The genre of the performance is a psychological detective. In general, how interesting is psychological theater for an actor's gut?

- A very good question! I can say that theater and psychology are interrelated. Whatever a person does, everything is related to psychology. Of course, it is very interesting. The acting profession, one might say, is practical psychology. And the actor's gut craves to reveal certain secrets that are hidden in the character and in the whole story. And it is very interesting every time. This is not some kind of comedy genre, here, you need to live and reveal through halftones the essence of these characters. Of course, it is great to play children's performances, where there is expression and energy. But this is different. Different strokes, a different style of acting. Not everyone can boast that they can play villains or in children's performances. Such halftones are very curious for an adult audience.

- The director reveals the psychology of each character that makes the production even deeper. How important is it for the audience to feel the depth, to think, to analyze?

- Of course, it is very important for the audience to think and to analyze. If the audience is not involved in the story, then he will not think. Everything is done so that a person reflects on his life. The play is as an example. A person goes to the theater for emotions, to experience personal problems or to meet accumulated issues. And in the auditorium, a person watches a living example, compares, it happens randomly. When you read a book, you can read it once in one state and see a certain aspect and another time, you read it and open a new horizon. And here it is the same! This play really captivated me. At first, I did not understand it at all. I could not even finish reading. I think something is wrong ... And literally the next day, I collected my thoughts and forced myself to read it all despite my reluctance. And when I read to the end, everything came together for me. I understood the essence of this story. I understood what it is about. I was smashed, you could say. A lot of similar stories happen in our families. But in this example, I thought about my family, what secret stories are hidden there. Believe me, everyone will think and see not only their personal, but also themselves in this topic. It's magic!

- And the main idea and concept of the play is that only love should rule the world and us?

- Yes, from my point of view, the play carries the idea of love. You can't betray love! We are controlled by public reason that makes us behave one way or another, we are born and fall under it and no one is to blame for it. The only thing you need to listen to is your heart. And to follow the path suggested by your heart, regardless of any mercantile or emotional tricks. For me, this is the most important thread in life and in this play.

- Nikolay, what is especially dear to you as an actor in your role?

- As an actor, I like that I play two roles. I get an acting interest in how to play both sides in one performance. It turns out that in almost all my performances I play more than one role. Almost always, two or three. For me, this is a kind of sporting interest, I like the versatility of characters. And in general, in life I like not to be in one line, but to have variety. And in this performance, I have something to play, to enjoy it. The peculiarity of this role is that it is my character that subconsciously follows the path of his heart and no matter, what psychological adversity it foreshadows for him, he still continues his path. This is very dear to me!

- Reading the audience's reviews of your performance, I most often noted the words "piercing, frank, heart-wrenching"... When, in your opinion, does the audience vote with their heart?

- When the audience throws away all their screens, worldview, painful problems and is imbued with this story. This topic captivates and makes you see not only with your mind, but also with your heart. That's when the strongest response arises from actors, writers, translators, all the participants of this regatta...

- Do you leave room for ellipses after "Three days of rain"?

- Of course, there will be many ellipses and of the most varied kind... Ellipses after three days of rain... And all this is absolute love, no matter what!

We invite theatergoers to the Culture Centre "Mir" on 21 September, at 6:00 PM to fill these ellipses with their own emotions, impressions and all the variety of feelings!

Interviewed by Eleonora YAMALEEVA, Member of the Union of Theatre Workers of the Russian Federation
Photo from the personal archive of Nikolay LYUTOV