Examples of reviews. Review One Three comrades

Not long ago I saw one of the most strikingperformances of the Sovremennik theatre “Threecomrades”, an adaptation of Remarque’s famous novel . I was impressed by the direction of Galina Volcheck .

The artistic director caught the spirit of the novel very well and represented it on stage.

The performance was close to the book. That night Chulpan Hamatova was in the cast. She performed the role of Pat Holman. Chulpan gave a marvelous performance of a person who is seriously ill with TB, who understands that her days arenumbered, and wants to forget about it. She doesn’t give up, she wants to live and to love. Her cheerful nature and ability to love attracts Robby and his friends. Pat brightens his love andbrings joy and meaning into his life. He, in his turn, loves the girl tenderly and looks after her despite her catching disease. His love to Pat is self-denying. Chulpan’s acting is amazing. Her voice is powerful and her face is very expressive. She wonderfully reveals the emotional state of the character . She puts her heart and soul into the role and charges the audience with electricity.

That is why Moscow theatre-goers starting talking about her as a talented theatre actress in 1999 after the first-night of “Three comrades”. Since then she has played a number of interesting roles, but Pat remains one of her best ones. For Galina Volchek the idea of true friendship is also important. You can’t help admiring the three fiends who stand by each other in trouble, whatever happens. At the end Otto even sells his favourite car to get a big sum of money and to give Robby an opportunity to spend the last days of Pat’s life with her in the sanatorium which is expensive. The acting of Sergey Yuskevich is magnificentin the scene, where he parts with his car for the sake of his friend. The performance is also a strong protest against fascism which destroys people’s lives. Lenz, one of the friends, is killed by fascists because of his ideas. The performance is wonderfully staged. The scenery and the music create the necessary atmosphere - sometimes the atmosphere of sadness and sometimes the atmosphere of joy. The soundtrack to the performance is marvellous. Galina Volchek also uses the surround volume system to create the atmosphere of Berlin(trams, cars, etc). the sea, the forest. For example, you can hear the sound of the cuckoo bird who promised Pat that she would live 100 years. But unfortunately the girl died in the sanatorium and Robby ‘s life was empty again.

The end of the performance is powerful when you see the three friends and Pat flying somewhere up in the car when they were all alive and happy. This performance preaches the ideas of true love and friendship which are stronger than everything else.

Discussion points: Use the vocabulary in bold while talking about the performance

1)What is the performance “Three comrades” about?

2)What can you say about the acting?

3)What can you say about the direction?

4)What is the message of the performance?

Review two

Into the whirlwind

By Eugenia Ginzburg

“This is not a play you just watch, but a play you experience”/LA Times/

One of the most striking performances of the Sovremennik theatre is the adaptationof Eugenia Ginzburg’s astonishing autobiographical novel about her eighteen years in Stalinist camps, staged by Galina Volchek, the artistic director of the theatre. It is one of the best productions of Galina Borisovna Volchek. When the Sovremennik theatre toured America and performed on Broadway, “Into the Whirlwind” got very good reviewsin American newspapers and Galina Volchek was awarded a prestigious prize for this production and for her adaptation of A. Chechov’s ”Three sisters” And it’s no wonder that the performance was so hailedin America.First, it touches upon a problem, which can’t leave you indifferent. Second, the performance features 35 actorsand actresses, including such stars as: Marina Neyolova, Liya Akhedzhakova, Nina Doroshina, Lilia Tolmacheva, etc. All of them burn themselves out on stageand closer to the end of the performance look extremely exhausted. Both actors in leading and in supporting roles reveal the tragedy of people who were tormented in a Siberian Stalinist camp. For example, our star Marina Alexandrova performs a minor role of a German dancer who managed to escape from a Hitler concentration camp, but found herself in a Stalinist one. And she gives an unforgettable performance, though her role is a supporting one. Of course, Marina Neyolova in the leading role is absolutely marvelous. Her acting is extremely emotional and

has a cathartic effect on the audience. One can’t forget the impression produced by her voice in the monologue uttered when her character was sentenced to prison absolutely for nothing:” Ten years and for what, ten years and for what?!” Third, the direction of Volchek is brilliant. Everything is well thought of. On entering the theatre you plunge directly into that epoch,you hear the songs and melodies of that time, see the portraits of the Soviet leaders in the lobby. It creates the effect of presence.Later, when performance starts, they

heighten this effect of presenceby various means. For example, they use the surround volume system to reproduce the sound of the clicking bars, they also direct the lights from the lamp to the audience, when they show the scene of Eugenia’s interrogation. She suffers from the lights of the lamp directed into her face. The spectators suffer with her. So you can also appreciate the contribution of light and sound engineers to the success of the performance. On the whole, it’s a brilliant performance that sticks in your memory and burns into your heart.

Discussion points: