Chekhov in Ukrainian

Alla Babenko, a director at the Lviv Maria Zankovetska National Ukrainian Drama Theater, seems to know almost everything about Anton Chekhov. She stages his oeuvres very cleverly, ably, refinedly, with exquisite taste and respect for the classic.

Her gorgeous library holds not only the collection of the Russian genius’s oeuvres but also studies by Chekhov researchers (from 1904 to the present), Ukrainian and foreign reviews of all theater productions based on his works. Ms. Babenko considers Chekhov a 21st century playwright, and she is convinced that the entire European dramaturgy comes out of his plays. She puts on productions for the International Chekhov Festival held in Melikhovo (now Literary-cum-Memorial Museum), where the writer lived and worked from 1892 until 1899. This is Russia’s only festival that features nothing but works by and on Chekhov. Incidentally, these productions by the Lviv’s theater have a tremendous success. By contrast, Lviv theater-goers can see these “pearls” very seldom, although the Zankovetska Theater’s repertoire includes ten (!) excellent chamber productions which are now part of the Chekhov theatrical heritage – they have been greatly appreciated by the leading critics and theater researchers of Europe. One of the reviewers says: “When you watch Lviv stage versions put on by Alla Babenko, you forget that Chekhov wrote in Russian because his oeuvres look and sound so organic in Ukrainian.”

“I have been staging Chekhov’s works for ten years,” the producer told The Day. “I began with Uncle Vanya, then came The Lady with the Dog, The Grasshopper, The House with the Mezzanine, Betrothed, Ariadne, Ionitch, An Anonymous Story, and a composition based on The Seagull. We put on productions specifically for the Melikhovo international festival.

We presented The Seagull at the autumnal festival – it was the composition The Seagull through the Eyes of Efros which we played in Chekhov’s Melikhovo estate and in the Chekhov Museum on Moscow’s Sadovoye Ring.

We also played Betrothed at the Russian Classics festival and at a festival in Chernihiv. In the Crimea, Ariadne and Ionitch (one-act chamber productions titled Rereading Chekhov) won the Grand Prix at the 1st International Festival “Theater. Chekhov. Yalta 2008.”

Whence this love for Anton Chekhov’s legacy?

“Chekhov has been attracting me since I was a student. But it never occurred to me in the beginning that I would be mature enough to stage his oeuvres. I did my first work, Uncle Vanya, on the initiative of Fedir Stryhun, the artistic director of the Maria Zankovetska Theater. I am interested in Chekhov and try to see all productions based on his works. I have a lot of reviews, including some from abroad. It is no secret that Chekhov was displeased with the first productions of his plays at the Moscow Art Theater. There is some puzzle in them, which producers find it difficult to guess. I succeeded to some extent in Uncle Vanya, The Lady with the Dog, and The Grasshopper. What is the puzzle? Chekhov knew he was dying. He had his own outlook, his own vision of life, which was reflected on his works. I saw only one production, Three Sisters, put on by the Polish director Adam Hanuszkiewicz, at which the audience laughed and cried at the same time. In the former USSR, producers used to put emphasis in Chekhov’s plays either on sociality, as Georgy Tovstonogov did, or on poeticism, as Anatoly Efros did genially. But never have I seen any farce or comical absurdity of life. Chekhov is a playwright of not even the 20th but the 21st century.”

What Chekhovian work are you working on now?

“I am staging My Life (The Story of a Provincial), a very difficult novella. Readers perhaps remember the 1972 screen version, in which Stanislav Liubshin played the main part. We were requested to make this production for the Melikhovo festival, a forum frequented by Chekhov aficionados of not only Russia but also Europe. For example, last year this festival saw a production by the Chekhov Theater of Madrid. The French and Germans also displayed interesting works – the entire theatrical Europe is rushing to Melikhovo. Incidentally, I once stayed in the room where the famous British producer Peter Brook had lived. You see, this festival has special vibes, a special spirit… This is why our actors are so eager to travel there, even though we have to buy tickets at our own expense, which really cost a pretty penny now. We are the only Ukrainian theater that visits Melikhovo every year.”

Which of your Chekhov productions was the greatest success?

“Uncle Vanya – it was totally unexpected for me because the audience consisted of people who knew this play by heart. But the production went off wonderfully! There were rave reviews. After the show, too, we are desirable guests in Melikhovo. But I personally prefer The Grasshopper with Lesia Bonkovska and Taras Zhyrok. Audiences also warmly receive Yurii Chekov in Ionitch. Besides, last year saw a howling success of the production An Anonymous Story with his participation. We also grabbed the Grand Prix at the Yalta Chekhov Festival for Ionitch and Ariadne (Rereading Chekhov) – this is the first so high award in the history of our theater. We showed An Anonymous Story at the international festival Golden Knight in Moscow, where we won the solver award in spite of a fierce competition. Every year, when we produce Chekhov in Lviv, we sort of test ourselves for professionalism. There are no tours now, critics do not visit us, nor are there any reviews or discussions of productions – we seem to be living in a closed space. So Chekhov productions help us go places and arouse interest among critics. For example, the Russian journal Teatr i kino has published the latest discussion in Melikhovo – it was so interesting and meaningful! Among those who took part in it was Doctor of Arts Tatiana Shakhazizova, the world’s best-known Chekhov researcher. This is why participation in Chekhov festivals is a test on mastery for me and the actors. After all, it is an opportunity to learn what is going on in the European world of theater.”

Ms. Babenko, what is your favorite Chekhov’s work?

“I think it is The Seagull. I’ve been dreaming in all my lifetime to stage it. Unfortunately, nobody will go to see The Seagull in Lviv. So there is no sense producing it even for a chamber show.”

Whose productions of Chekhov’s works have you seen?

“Three Sisters in the production of Nemyrovych-Danchenko. I not only saw it, I learned his art of direction by heart from a book. I have seen many times The Seagull, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard staged by Anatoly Efros and all Chekhov productions at the Moscow Art Theater, and I saw The Seagull put on in Moscow’s Sovremennik by Oleg Yefremov. I have also seen plays directed by the Czech genius Otomar Krejca who had discovered Anton Chekhov for Europe. Add to this the productions of Andrei Serban, a Romanian-born American theater director. Unfortunately, I have not seen The Seagull directed by the Polish genius Krystian Lupa and The Cherry Orchard by Lithuania’s Eimuntas Nekrosius. In general, I think the entire European dramaturgy comes out of Chekhov.”

Why do Ukrainian theaters not put on Chekhov’s plays very often?

“Because we are living in the world of a market economy. And nobody wants to ‘go vertical,’ as theater buffs say. Everybody wants to ‘go horizontal.’ They have forgotten about things spiritual…

“Maybe, the Year of Chekhov will bring on some changes. I wish it would!”