Theater directors do not often become media faces, and Yuri Butusov does not seek to get into the secular chronicle. He works hard, and the results of his work attract the attention of viewers and critics. The director’s biography is full of professional events.
Search for yourself
Yuri Butusov was born in Gatchina on October 24, 1961, in a family unrelated to the theater. He considers himself a St. Petersburg man, because it is in this city that his formation and formation as an artist takes place. Yuri Butusov is a director who did not immediately find himself. He had not dreamed about the theater since childhood, although he studied in his youth in the studio, and he had other plans for life at school.
Upon graduation, he enters the Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute. After graduation, he does not work for a long time in his specialty, work does not bring satisfaction, Yuri tries himself in various professions, even seriously enjoys horse riding. Searches lead him to the Venereamin Filshtinsky theater, very famous in Perekrestok, in Leningrad, and he even tries to enter the acting department, but he does not succeed. Butusov has been working as a watchman for a whole year, studying at Crossroads, and in 1991 entered the directing department of LGITMiK, the workshop of Irina Malochevskaya, who worked with G. Tovstonogov for many years.
Director's Way
The Theater Institute not only gave Butusov his favorite profession, but also brought him together with actors who will become the stars of his performances, at the same time Mikhail Porechenkov, Mikhail Trukhin, Andrei Zibrov and Konstantin Khabensky studied at the LGITMiK . They began to cooperate in their student years, when Yuri Butusov staged the educational play "Marriage" and did his thesis on Beckett's play, "Waiting for Godot." Later, this team will cause many years of sold out at the theater. Lensovet, and the last work will bring the director fame and recognition. For his Godot, he will receive the Golden Mask and the main prize at the Christmas Parade festival.
There are lucky people in the theater world, and such is Yuri Butusov, whose biography demonstrates an almost vertical take-off. From the very first steps, the director connected his fate with the theater of the absurd, he loves Ionesco, poses Buchner, Pinter, Camus. But, growing up, he comes to understanding and the desire to put a classic, under his leadership there is a new reading of Shakespeare, Chekhov, Bulgakov.
After high school Butusov together with his group of actors comes to the theater to them. Lensoviet and makes it one of the most prominent in Russia. Spectators and critics fall in love with Yuri, and he continues his search and is looking for new platforms for implementation.
Having worked in St. Petersburg for several years, Yuri Butusov sets off to conquer Moscow. He is invited to the Satyricon, where the director puts Macbeth on E. Ionesco, forming a new team of actors, which then continues to work with him for many years. Butusov is characterized by the perception of the theater as at home, he seeks to create a cozy family atmosphere in the troupe. During his short-lived path, he was able to create two such houses: in the Lensovet Theater and in the “Satyricon”.
Moscow favorably meets the director, he is invited to perform the best theaters: "Snuffbox", Moscow Art Theater. A.P. Chekhov, Vakhtangov, Alexandrinsky. Since 2002, he begins to set and abroad: in South Korea, Norway, Bulgaria.
Butusov works a lot, releasing several performances a year, and all his works are marked by high quality, an interesting idea, outstanding actors and many directorial finds.
The best performances
It is rare when fame comes to the director after the first productions, Yuri Butusov became such a lucky guy. The photos of the theatrical figure were reprinted by all the media after the release of his Wojcieck in 1997. Over 20 years of work, he staged more than 30 performances, many of which were a discovery for theatergoers. His notable works were “The Good Man from Cezuan” (Pushkin Theater), “Three Sisters” (Lensoviet Theater), “Othello” (“Satyricon”), “The Seagull” (“Satyricon”), “King Lear” (The Satyricon).
Creative method of Yuri Butusov
The director demonstrates a tendency to conciseness and minimalism. He attaches great importance to space, in his productions on the stage there are no random objects and decorations for decoration. He plays out every thing that hits the stage: a table in Hamlet, a piano in King Lear, a tree in Godot are almost the characters in the play.
Butusov always works with the viewer and for him, he tells complex stories in a simple and understandable language, draws the viewer into deep empathy and immerses him in the atmosphere of the play.
His method of criticism is called a "non-linear" theater, it is based on etudes, associations, violation of the usual logic. Over the years, Butusov’s storytelling logic has become more and more complicated, the viewer is offered a large joint intellectual work on reading classical texts.
Awards and Achievements
Butusov from those directors whom the critic loves, he has repeatedly received laudatory and enthusiastic reviews and awards. His portfolio includes the Golden Mask, Golden Spotlight - the St. Petersburg Theater Award, the Seagull Award, and the Prize of them. K. S. Stanislavsky.
Private life
If there are private persons in the theater world, then this is Yuri Butusov. The director’s wife is the topic of the most common questions of fans of his work. But there is no information on this subject in the media. There are two versions: either Butusov is a great conspirator, or he simply does not have a wife. The second is more likely, given the crazy performance and workload of the director. Looks like he just has no time to think about his family. He is trying to realize his many creative plans.