THE GUARDIAN
Friday July 14 1989
Friday July 14 1989
Dawn of the
anti-clown
anti-clown
Anton Adasinsky, founding father of the 'clowning of opposition'
PHOTOGRAPH PETER NASMYTH
They developed in isolation,
but Derevo, the young Russian group coming to LIFT next week, specialise
in an advanced form of foolery. John Connor reports
— it's another one,
like the
Marx Brothers. It's against the
throat — it's fighting. Maybe
what we are doing is intellec-
tual clowning."
Marx Brothers. It's against the
throat — it's fighting. Maybe
what we are doing is intellec-
tual clowning."
From the stumblings outside,
the show progresses to a circus
clown act pastiche which,
though funny, produces a great
sadness. This moves on to a
series of structured vignettes.
Two soldiers try to be romantic
the show progresses to a circus
clown act pastiche which,
though funny, produces a great
sadness. This moves on to a
series of structured vignettes.
Two soldiers try to be romantic
— he brings flowers
— she
moves to take them. They both
struggle to reach each other in
vain, but they never stop try-
ing. This work that is full of
pain, yet is also so visually
compelling, fits into a frame-
work that we in the West have
learned to understand. Yet how
does a Russian audience deal
with it?
moves to take them. They both
struggle to reach each other in
vain, but they never stop try-
ing. This work that is full of
pain, yet is also so visually
compelling, fits into a frame-
work that we in the West have
learned to understand. Yet how
does a Russian audience deal
with it?
"They have a very
good reac-
tion to us. And for us it is more
interesting to work in our
country than the West. It is also
more useful. You haven't our
problems, our history. In Rus-
sia our show works like ther-
apy for people's hearts."
tion to us. And for us it is more
interesting to work in our
country than the West. It is also
more useful. You haven't our
problems, our history. In Rus-
sia our show works like ther-
apy for people's hearts."
Entitled, Krasnoe (The
Zone
Of Red), the piece, as Adasinkij
claims, is not political. "In this
time when it is possible to say
what you like — it's no longer
interesting. Every publication
deals with it." But it does seem
to be a visual metaphor for the
rebirth of the spirit of a people.
A constant image is one of the
performers pictured in a foetal
position.
Of Red), the piece, as Adasinkij
claims, is not political. "In this
time when it is possible to say
what you like — it's no longer
interesting. Every publication
deals with it." But it does seem
to be a visual metaphor for the
rebirth of the spirit of a people.
A constant image is one of the
performers pictured in a foetal
position.
"For our audience
the images
are no more direct than they
are for a Western one, though
perhaps when we depict sol-
diers it is more evocative for
us. For our people, being in the
army is a discrimination
against freedom. It's a very
hard time for our young people
when they have to go in the
army. I think it's unhappiness,
it's unfree. But it is a common
idea for all the world."
are no more direct than they
are for a Western one, though
perhaps when we depict sol-
diers it is more evocative for
us. For our people, being in the
army is a discrimination
against freedom. It's a very
hard time for our young people
when they have to go in the
army. I think it's unhappiness,
it's unfree. But it is a common
idea for all the world."
— Derevo play
at the ICA from
July 17-23 as part of LIFT.
July 17-23 as part of LIFT.
SOMETIMES being an Englishman
abroad isn't too bad. When a Russian troupe plays at an Italian theatre,
both sides use English as their common ground. In the Teatro della Li-monaia,
in Firenze Centre on the outskirts of Florence, everyone is excited.
It's the morning of the press reviews, and the nationals are all raving
about Derevo, a young performance theatre company from Leningrad.
Fulvio Fo, the impresario
brother of Dario, has already been on the phone trying to set up a full-scale
Italian tour for the group later in the year. Not bad for a company
that have only been going for two years — and are now on their
first tour outside the Soviet Union.
But then they are a remarkable
company. They're slap-bang in the middle of the new theatre movement
in Europe — yet they've developed their style in complete isolation.
Imagine Beckett zombies, choreographed by somebody from the school of
Japanese buto movement and performed by clowns. Anton Adasinkij, their
30-year-old founder and directors describes it as "Clowning of
opposition".
Against a background of
taped rhythmic engine noise these anti-clowns emerge from the theatre
into the lighted garden space outside — they struggle to move,
fall down, plough into walls, yet they stumble on. If ever there was
a performance equivalent to Beckett's cry "Go on", this is
it.
Anton Adasinkij had already
found fame in Russia before founding Derevo, he was the lead performer
and creator of the theatrical style of the jazz-fusion band Avia, who
played-successfully in England earlier in the year. His wife is still
a member.
"Avia became very
strong, but then they didn't want to change anything. The commercial
life had taken over — and for me the purpose of the group stopped.
But I obviously still wish them well."
He started his career,
not surprisingly, as a clown with a group called Lycedeji. Clowning
in Russia is treated with as much reverence as any other performance
art. It was there that he got a chance "to study and read about
theatre. That's why I came to my own ideas.
"I had no relationship
with Western groups — but I knew of their existence from magazine
pictures, and reading. I hadn't seen any video or film of any performance
companies. We wanted to get hold of such things but it is impossible
in our country." Neither had he seen buto before, at least not
until a couple of weeks previously on the tour. Yet, Kazuo Ohno, co-founder
of the movement, wants to do a performance with them in Vienna.
"We
decided that the problems that we wanted to deal with, were those that
connected with the whole of humanity. This clown act was born out of
the madness of our civilisation. It's not the clown act of Chaplin
