Natalia Grabchenko: Good evening! Here's Natalia Grabchenko and the program "The Whole World of Theatre", which informs you about the most interesting events in theatre life of Ukraine.

As it's known, on November 17 and 18 Kiev had the honor to be premiering "Kitchen", presented by "Theatrical Company 814". Special attention to this event can be explained by inexhaustible interest in Oleg Menshikov, its star and producer. The play "Kitchen" was written on his order by a young Kiev playwright Maxim Kurochkin. Many wonderful actors are engaged in the performance: a talented theatre actress Oksana Mysina, famous film actor Alexey Gorbunov, actress of "Sovremennik" theatre Galina Petrova, Alexandr Sirin from "Lenkom", young actors - Nikita Tatarenkov, Anna Dubrovskaya, and others. Impressive decorations were created by a famous cinema artist Alexandr Popov, exquisite costumes by couturier Igor Chapurin. The music was composed by Boris Grebenshikov. Oleg Menshikov and his star cast realized that their new creation - "Kitchen" - will be examined as thoroughly as their previous project "Woe from Wit". And surely Oleg remembers all that nightmare of aggressive PR that fell upon his previous performance. Nowadays success is unforgivable. Especially, when it's a success of a talented actor producing his own financially stable entreprise.
Everybody knows that the previous performance of "Theatrical Company 814", "Woe from Wit" by Griboedov, was the first producing experience of Oleg Menshikov. But that's not true. In 1993, having changed several directors, who in Oleg's opinion didn't manage the task, he himself finished producing "Nizhinsky". But he didn't put his name into the playbill. That's why "Nizhinsky" was praised by common consent. They adored Menshikov as an actor, who being "crazy God's cloun", unearthly and inconceivable, in the end flew out of the wide-open window into the Eternity... Well done!
Having staged "Woe from Wit" with wonderful actors originally revealing every character of the play, Menshikov equally experienced both pleasure of being loved and disappointment of being envied. Well organized chorus of critics unintelligently and sometimes even boorishly dealt with the actor, who they praised and adored not long ago. The reviews had either very poor reasoning or lacked it at all. The strongest reason against Menshikov as a producer sounded like that: "He is a successful actor, so he could act and enjoy his life! What does he want? Why meddle in producing?" And colleagues, less successful in entreprise attempts, together with the lack of professionalism and decency in theatre studies serve as a background for such judgments.
Very few people understand how to reveal what is going on in theatre process in general and with such an ambiguous person as Menshikov. And vulgar tone, sometimes wretched, has never helped theatre critics to find truth.
And even fewer will be courageous enough to admit that there came a distinctive master, who (let's give him his due) interpret some things in a more interesting, daring, non-typical way than many professional directors.
Probably Oleg Menshikov tried himself in directing for several reasons. First of all, due to being unrealized in theatre to some extent. Very few considerable roles were played: Ganya Ivolgin, Caligula, Nizhinsky are his most significant parts, and of course it's not enough for such an actor as Menshikov. Secondly, it is hard to imagine Oleg implicitly following somebody's will and doing a routine job in a repertory theatre. And thirdly, as Alexandr Feklistov (Oleg's partner in "Nizhinsky") said: "Oleg has an absolutely directive thinking". And having seen his "Kitchen" the viewers will be surely convinced that it's true.

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fragment of the performance - "I'm not a doctor to heal the world! I'm ill myself!"

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Oleg Menshikov: As a matter of fact I perceive this word "director", let's say, with a great share of irony. Really. Because that's my attitude. I decided to go in for theatre and establish Theatrical Company because I think that the way of composing a performance is one of the most correct nowadays in theatre producing. Composing. We gather people who want to compose the performance with us. You know, actors rehearse, playwright writes, scene-painters adjust light, and no one knows what director is doing, right? Well, as usual. We want all this to go on simultaneously. The last scenes Maxim [Kurochkin] was writing a week ago, and some cues we finished writing today in the hotel. And this is a normal process for the theatre, absolutely normal. Well, there's another for sure, but we want to try this way. That's why, concerning direction, I never call myself a director. Well, let's hope, maybe in about 10 years - that's about the result [laughing] - may be I can call myself... Now it's just... Because I have an internal rights to lead people, in some way help them, in some way guide them, in some way suggest something, but nothing more.

"Kitchen" is a philosophical parable with a fantastic plot. And fantasy blends with reality - hyperrealism and unreality - two in one... Why does a self-confident, wealthy, successful owner of a profitable restaurant with shining Zepter kitchen start this irreversible disastrous performance? What and who does he want to demonstrate? Murder, love, honor, friendship, dignity, revenge are immutable ideas today, and 20, and 800 years ago. The performance of inevitability of fate. The performance about guilt and punishment. Nothing has changed - a human just as hundreds years ago seeks for the fifth angle of his existence and never finds it... And fantastic reincarnation of the characters in identical figures gives the same answer: you've come to where you've started. And there's the same way before you. And the same sins. And the same expiation...

Oleg Menshikov: Well, you know, here's everything. Or rather here's not only...how to say?...belonging to some kin, but history as a whole, interlacing of times, after all - what is this? What were people then? What are people now? Have we become better or have we become worse? Probably worse, but maybe better? I don't know, it's hard to say. Generally I have always been interested in it - this history, these people who... Well, you enter a castle of 19th century, 18th, or even earlier times and think - how? Here walked the same people, also two arms-two legs, how? Why? Were they different? But they walked here. And these walls remember them. I understand that it's something...there are no words for it, but I was always... What always stopped me in these museums, this particular feeling - how? This "how". Time? What does it mean "their time has passed"? Where did it pass? Where did it go? It's... Well, here's the bottle, you drunk it and threw away, it's somewhere...and time? Where does it pass? I don't understand where it passes...

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fragment of the performance - "Aethernitus Vulgaris"
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The action develops as if in two levels: real everyday life (the Kitchen) and fantastic history (the Castle). The latter is more theatrical, almost at cothurns. Why kitchen? Because it is the only place where we are absolutely open-hearted and truthful. And that's why it's kitchen where king Gunther (in this life the owner of the restaurant) tells truth about his bygone evil deed...

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fragment of the performance - "I was just going to tell you all that"

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And then, like an insane flow from the depths of subconsciousness, the story that has been lived through once appears again: "The Niebelungen Saga" - murder of king Seigfried, evil of king Gunther, meanness of vassal Hagen and devilishly and absolutely in feminine way calculated revenge of queen Kriemhild. And 20 years ago he murdered again. In the same manner. His best friend. He couldn't forgive that the biggest love and the biggest success fell not to his lot...

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fragment of the performance - "The dream of the mankind has been fulfilled and mine hasn't"

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The widow of the murdered is a cleaner at his kitchen now. As a silent reproach. As an everlasting reminding. Her name now is Nadya and this fatal performance where you can't part fantasy from reality is for her. But the share of his sympathy for her is tiny. He destroys the whole world around her thus punishing her for having refused his feelings once.
The heroes of medieval epos don't rest in peace: life, death, reincarnation, and life again. And if Kriemhild at some turn can refuse revenge, can forgive, they will obtain long-awated peace and permission not to play this drama over and over again. But is there a woman who will refuse to take revenge for her beloved? It's as good as betrayal. And the memory doesn't want to wipe out the past...

Oksana Mysina: We had a show for only 30 people, when Oleg decided not to premiere "Kitchen" yet. And there came people who said that they were watching the performance and they saw their own life with their inner view. Because the plot is so strange and obscure and requires a great deal of associative work. And we must create such an atmosphere that will involve the audience into the show.

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fragment of the performance - "I played with you at give-away"

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Oleg Menshikov: Well, there's always a revelation in every role. If there are not, why play it?

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fragment of the performance - "I'm not a human"

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We must give Menshikov-director his due: the mutual penetration of different in form and essence time levels is skillfully lined up by a talented producer. The details and plastic interpretations of dialogs are very interesting. However the first act is of a bit chaotic character and there are a lot of textual piles, but the second act is executed with great precision, grips the viewer at once and powerfully carries him to the striking ending...
"Kitchen" possesses several characteristics that automatically make it a non-commercial performance: it makes us think, solve this intellectual riddle. Moreover, it requires a huge emotional connection, empathy. It might seem, there's nothing special, but the entertaining function of contemporary theatre, so convenient and timely, made us forget about different theatre. And Menshikov, who has always been keen on Streller's directing, restores by "Kitchen" the deep-laid essence of the theatricality, presenting it in a bright form.

Oleg Menshikov: I don't want to differ from anyone, I just want to do... I know that theatre should be beautiful. Beautiful. Theatre can't be plain. Theatre should be honest, theatre should be...and of corse it should be a holiday. And only...well...you know, the most...the most fascinating feelings were excited by works of Streller, Fellini when even if you don't understand anything, even if you understand that a flow of human tragedies have fallen on you, you have that feeling of holiday inside of you, your inner holiday, you're happy that you are living, walking on this earth, that you are something... This holiday. And if...this is not the aim of theatre, his is...I would like this to happen at least sometimes with 2 or 3 people leaving the theatre after our performance. This desire to embrace the world... If this happens, this is great.

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fragment of the performance - "Will we serve?"

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The viewer rushes "to Menshikov" expecting something incredible. What? He doesn't know himself. And that's why he's so often remains unsatisfied. His illusions haven't become reality for another time. Who is to blame? Menshikov, of course, who else? However, "Kitchen" is of that complicated sort of performances that tend to grow and progress till the very last show. Till the moment when Menshikov again will be tired of playing the same role... And then a new performance will appear. And our hero, unvain, indifferent to all rumors around him, with his delicate perception of the world, with his philosophical attitude to its imperfection, will give us more than one revelation. Let's believe it...