The marketing challenge is daunting indeed. How do you sell a production about the seduction of a middle-aged wife in mourning set in rural, aristocratic, 19th century Russia to me, a 21-year-old, 21st-century average Joe?
Michael Vitorovich, who plays Smirnov, the debt-collecting widow-seducer in The Bear (which is part of an upcoming production of some of Anton Chekhov’s short humorous plays), put it to me like this: “These days, you invest so much emotion in a fake construct. We still fall into these traps, pouring time and energy into delusions. It’s important for people to see ridiculous versions of themselves.”
True, but for a ridiculous version of myself, I’m more likely to look to Jon Stewart than to Anton Chekhov. What in these old foreign words shows me something that I need to know, or reveals some aspect of myself that’s entirely ridiculous?
“Every character has two sides to it,” said Cydney Southam who plays Elena, the mourning widow. “For example, my character portrays the image of wife in mourning, but then there’s the other side of it-she wants sex. She’s horny.”
I can see that difficult dualities exist in everyone’s experience and it’s hard to keep them in balance: life and death, sex and death, life and sex.
“I don’t think Chekhov would have wanted us to relate to these characters, though,” said Oz Bakhari, who plays Luka, the freeloading servant to the widow. He maintained that these over-the-top characters exist for us to laugh at. Only occasionally should we recognize aspects of ourselves in them.
The duality of all of the characters’ perceived wants and actual wants is strongly emphasized by a production with authentic Russian/Eastern European dance between scenes.
For example Southam explained, “I do a slutty, horny-Russian-lady dance, then I’m back to speaking words about my dead husband and mourning. All of a sudden I am acting the way you think I ought to.”
So what makes seeing Chekhov better than attending my weekly yoga class?
“What’s more therapeutic, yoga or acting? Theatre is the one that’s truly a mirror to see yourself,” Vitorovich suggested.
Then Southam said some magic and persuasive words: “potential nudity.”
I’m sold. Theatre does it like no other medium.
Chekhov Vaudevilles runs March 1-4 at the Robert Gill Theatre. Visit www.uofttix.ca for more information.
