In 2016, on the stage of the “Palace on the Yauza” , the premiere of a non-standard production of fantasy called “Do not leave your planet” took place. Tickets costing from 6,000 to 8,000 rubles can be purchased at the box office of the Moscow Sovremennik Theater or on its official website. The plot was based on the story of A. de Saint-Exupery "The Little Prince". The production lasts 90 minutes without intermission.
History of creation
Yuri Bashmet and Konstantin Khabensky are the authors of the idea. Probably, the idea would have remained the imagination of the actor and musician if Victor Kramer had not joined the creation of the play. The St. Petersburg director harmoniously combined the basic ideas of Bashmet and Khabensky, acting as a director, costume designer, author of literary composition and stage designer.
Kuzma Bodrov created a musical score. The play contains his author’s compositions, as well as fragments of the works of G. Mahler and I. Brahms arranged by him. Employees of the Sovremennik Theater in Moscow were involved in the work on the production. The pre-premiere screening took place in 2016 in Sochi at the IX International Winter Art Festival.
Creative Group
The production of Sovremennik, “Do not leave your planet,” at the proper level, combines a dramatic actor, classical music, original scenography, kinetic art and the latest developments in the field of video art. In a sense, this performance can be called a one-man show, because Konstantin Khabensky plays all the characters. The musicians of the Moscow Soloists ensemble, together with the conductor Yuri Bashmet, exist in the production along with the actor as full-fledged storytellers of the story about the Pilot and his star wanderer.
Content
The authors, defining the genre of their work as fantasy, make it clear to the viewer in advance that he will not see the next stage embodiment of the well-known story about the little golden-haired boy. A pilot who finds himself in the desert due to an accident is tormented by thirst. He throws all his will and the rest of his physical strength to fix the plane, because this is the only way to survive. The scorching sun, sand and dehydration become the hero's dreams.
The authors of the production do not give an unambiguous answer to the question - was there really that boy who flew to our planet from the asteroid B-612. At first, the guest only interferes with the Pilot in the struggle for life with his children's requests, discoveries and observations. The hero is busy saving his body, while Little Prince, pushing to search for answers to far from childish questions, tries to save his soul.
In the performance of Moscow's Sovremennik, Do Not Leave Your Planet, the protagonist visited many asteroids, the King of which lived on the first. For him, the most important thing in life was power, so he suffered because of the lack of those whom he could lead. The second planet was inhabited by ambitious people. The third asteroid was inhabited by a business man who considered stars to be his wealth, although it only seemed to him that they belonged to him. All of them are united by loneliness.
But the wise fox will tell the Prince about the most important value existing in the Universe. Khabensky, in the role of a red-haired cunning, goes to the hall and invites the casual viewer to make friends. The fox claims that you can only get to know someone by taming. Modern people do not have time to study, so they prefer everything ready to buy in stores. And since you cannot make friends, you can only tame them, few are willing to devote time to this, which is why most people suffer from loneliness.
"Soloists of Moscow"
Yuri Bashmet created this Chamber Ensemble back in 1986. After some time, the composition of Moscow Soloists was completely subject to change. Bashmet filled the ensemble with students, graduates and graduate students of the Moscow Conservatory. In May 1992, an updated team made its debut at the MGK them. Tchaikovsky, as well as in the Parisian hall "Playel".
The Moscow Soloists, led by Yuri Bashmet, are true like-minded people. This is felt in their joint impeccable performances, which harmoniously combine the bright personality of each musician. The repertoire of the Chamber Ensemble totals more than 350 exemplary compositions of world and Russian classics. Moscow Soloists regularly play the compositions of Mozart, Kancheli, Schnittke, Bach, Gubaidulina, Denisov, Tchaikovsky and other legendary composers. Over the decades of its existence, the ensemble gave about two thousand performances. Artists traveled to more than 50 countries. Concerts of the Chamber Ensemble took place on the stage of the most famous halls in the world, namely, London's Barbican Hall, Vienna's Musikferain, New York's Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam Concertgeboux and dozens of others. In 2016 and 2017, the musicians held a large-scale tour in honor of the 25th anniversary of the band.
Reviews for the play “Do not leave your planet”
In addition to a large number of adult viewers, curious minded teenagers come to see instructive and dynamic production with pleasure. Almost all visitors agreed that this version of the Little Prince’s interpretation turned out to be emotionally strong. Spectator reviews of the play “Do not leave your planet” show that its authors were able to fully integrate the musical accompaniment into a fantasy performance so that it became a full-fledged participant in the action. The compositions performed by Moscow Soloists surprisingly subtly form the atmosphere of the production as a whole and set the mood for each of its episodes. No one was indifferent, looking at the fantastic modern scenery that immerse guests in distant unprecedented worlds.
Some visitors said that they had tears in their eyes from the sensual musical compositions used in the production of "Do not leave your planet." Khabensky, according to viewers, not only played his characters, but truly lived their experience in the soul. During one performance, he reincarnated as a Pilot, Little Prince, Fox, Rose and other heroes.
The negative reaction of the audience
Despite the fact that the majority of reviews of the play “Do not leave your planet” are commendable, for some guests this story seemed boring, and they were forced to leave the hall right during the performance. Recently, K. Khabensky has been replaced by Arthur Smolyaninov. For this reason, the Sovremennik Theater did not consider it necessary to warn guests before buying a ticket for some reason. This incident caused many harsh comments about the production from disappointed and indignant visitors.
In some reviews of the play “Do not leave your planet” you can find information that not all viewers liked the fact that K. Khabensky played all the characters. There are also those visitors who did not like the musical accompaniment. They argued their dissatisfaction with the fact that the compositions are mainly built on high notes. Also, in their opinion, the music sounded too loud, so the characters were extremely hard to hear.
Poster of the Sovremennik Theater
The repertoire for January 2018 includes the following performances:
- The tragicomedy "Do not Become a Stranger."
- "The Overcoat."
- The drama "Three Sisters".
- The plays "The Game of Gin", "Autumn Sonata", "With the coming ...", "Five evenings."
- "The Cherry Orchard".
- "Lessons of the heart."
- The story "Women's Time."
- "Three comrades."
February repertoire
In the last winter month of 2018, on the posters of the Sovremennik Theater you can see the following performances:
- "The Cherry Orchard".
- "Do not leave your planet."
- Club evening "Neformat".
- "Five evenings."
- "Three comrades."
- "Do not become a stranger."
- Comedy "Amsterdam".
- "The game of gin."
- "Two on a swing."
- "Three sisters".
- "Late love".
- "Holiday greetings…".
- The play "Anarchy."