Hold on to the air: theaters are obliged to work even with half-empty halls

Angelica Zaozerskaya

If at the beginning of the theatrical season the so-called "chess seating" caused a storm of indignation, the new restriction is perceived more calmly. Theater directors turned to our tragic story, equating artists to frontline soldiers. Kirill Krok, director of the Vakhtangov Theater, wrote in his blog:

“We will not close the theater. We will continue to operate with 25% occupancy. The Vakhtangov Theater was not closed even during the war. A bomb hit the theater building, the theater left for evacuation, but continued to work actively. Now we are not talking about the economics of the theater. All financial issues faded into the background. It is about preserving the theater, actors, spectators. Our "safety cushion" should be enough for this".

Fortunately, bombs do not fall on Moscow, and there is no need to go to safe places, and the theater, of course, is always needed. At the Moscow Theater. Pushkin yesterday took place a downright symbolic premiere of "The Ordinary End of the World" based on the play by Jean-Luc Lagarse. The playwright also fell victim to an epidemic called AIDS in 1995, and now his autobiographical work is used in films and plays. The artistic director of the theater Yevgeny Pisarev invites you to the premiere and calls on all authors and invited artists to "get into position":

“We will continue to play performances on the Main Stage with 25% of seats sold. Provided that tickets purchased before November 13 are valid, and the invited artists and musicians agree to a fee reduction during this period. Still, the authors entered the position, but there is no hope for them...

As for our branch, the repertoire will be revised. But even there we will not stop work. Today there is the premiere of the play "The Ordinary End of the World" by Danila Chashchin, of whom I am proud. Buy your tickets for December while you have them! "

There are many guest stars in the theater, including Maria Aronova, Maxim Vitorgan, Alexander Petrov, Sergey Lazarev, Yelena Yakovleva, and whether they want to go on stage almost disinterestedly is a big question.

Director of the Bolshoi Theater Vladimir Urin told RBC that "it would be more honest" to close the theater while the situation with coronavirus worsens, and not to introduce new restrictions":

“If, with 50% of the room occupancy, we somehow made adjustments, reducing fees, then with a 25% occupancy, we will not be able to do this...”

But the New York Metropolitan Opera closed altogether until the next season - September 27, 2021. This decision was made at the very beginning of the pandemic and, apparently, before its full completion.

The repertoire theaters of Russia, operating on state money, cannot afford such a luxury - to pay money to the troupe and all employees for a whole year without earning even small expenses.

People's Artist of Russia, artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater youth ballet program, outstanding dancer Sergey Filin, who underwent 20 eye surgeries after the assassination attempt, urges the artists to "hold on" in his blog:

“I also think that the main thing is NOT THE NUMBER OF VIEWERS! And the MAIN THING is the number of RESCUED AND SAVED THEATERS, Performances and artists of all directions and genres!!! And I vote for it! Hold on!!!"