The theater hall is covered with puddles from the shoes of the spectators who have come, umbrellas are hiding in the most unexpected places, which they categorically refuse to accept in the wardrobe. Quite a London atmosphere.
Finally, all the umbrellas found where to stumble. The spectators took their seats, the ramp lit up and a story began that happened a long time ago in eternally autumnal London. The story of the life of Edward Kynaston.
What is the play about?
"Kinaston" is a performance, reviews of which are restrained. Enthusiastic tirades or negative responses are not written about him. Spectators who leave their opinion, however, like critics, choose their words very carefully. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the theater of O. Tabakov presented the production of “Kinaston” to the public, and it is difficult to speak badly about the master and not have arguments. Or maybe it's the show itself.
The production tells about Edward Kynaston, the star of the theatrical stage in London in the 17th century. At that time, London was literally obsessed with the theater, the popularity of this art form and its demand at times exceeded those of today's television shows.
Kynaston became famous for his performance of female images, and his Desdemona is still legendary in the theatrical English environment. The performance also tells about the moment in the life of a star when Charles II issued a decree obliging all English theater troupes to include women in the team and distribute roles according to the gender of the artists.
This decree destroyed many talented performers, although it gave the world many names of gifted actresses. The interest of the king in the stage was not caused by romantic stories, about which a large number of plays were also written and staged, but by the outbreak of an epidemic of syphilis among not only the nobility, but also the city dwellers. The spread of the disease was directly associated with the abundance of homosexual relationships, and it was the theaters that represented men as women who were accused of the dominance of same-sex love.
That's it, about how the artist, who gained fame and income from the performance of female roles, coped with the situation, who had many fans and patrons, but never played a single male character, is discussed in the play. About how Edward felt about the situation, whether he accepted the king’s decree, what happened in the actor’s soul at the sight of some girl from the street spoiling Desdemona with antics and affectation, about the internal crisis of a man who suddenly lost everything. About what happened - the end has come or something new has begun. At the same time, Kynaston was no longer young, and the global change that had befallen him coincided with a midlife crisis.
Who is author?
The play "Kynaston" in "Snuffbox", which collects generally positive reviews, is based on the play by the American playwright, the most popular screenwriter on Broadway, Jeffrey Hatcher. He was in love with the English theater school, with the very history of the development and formation of this art in London. And he dedicated a large number of his works to the heroes of those years.
Who is the director?
"Kinaston" is a performance, reviews of which invariably note the highest acting skills and directing, which determined the fine line between vulgarity and art, which allows revealing the most hidden and complex fractures in the soul of the characters of the production and captivate the viewer with them.
Meanwhile, not one person worked on the story of Edward Kynaston, but a whole team. What the audience sees and appreciates so highly is the result of joint work:
- Evgeny Pisareva - director and director;
- Zinovy Margolin - an artist who was engaged in scenography;
- Maria Danilova - costume designer;
- Alberts Alberts and Alexandra Konnikova - plastic directors;
- Karlis Latsis - composer;
- Alexander Sivaev - lighting designer;
- Anna Petrova - master-director for speech;
- Lyudmila Ulanova and Margarita Bezborodova - assistant directors.
It was thanks to the work of these people that the performance was held, promising to become the most popular in the entire history of the Snuffbox.
Who is on stage?
At the premiere in "Snuffbox" in the play "Kinaston" the following composition of the troupe was announced:
- Maxim Matveev - Edward Kynaston, the main role.
- Mikhail Khomyakov - Thomas Betterton, famous in London, but already an aged artist.
- Artur Kasimov as Samuel Pips, aspiring writer, future author of The Theatergoer's Diaries.
- or Pyotr Rykov - Willers, Duke of Buckingham, aristocrat and theater lover.
- Evgenia Borzykh or Natalya Popova - seamstress.
- Anna Goncharova - Lady Merisvale, a rich lady, a spectator, a supporter of the introduction of women into the troupe.
- Anastasia Chernyshova as Miss Frain, a wealthy marriageable girl with a passion for backstage life.
- Pavel Shevando - Sir Charles Sedley, philanthropist and patron of the entire troupe.
- Anna Chipovskaya - Margaret Hughes, officially - the first actress.
- Vitaly Egorov - Charles II, king.
- Anastasia Timushkova as Nell Gwyn, the monarch's mistress.
- Igor Petrov - Prime Minister Hyde.
- Alexander Kuzmin as Thomas Killigrew, owner.
- Isabelle Aiden as Elizabeth Barry, an aspiring artist.
- Natalya Kachalova is the hostess of a local tavern.
- Alexander Limin - Peter Lelli, artist.
- Nikita Ufimtsev and Anastasia Bogatyreva are the performers of the role of Emilia.
Many more artists are employed in the production, the so-called extras, that is, they play the roles of spectators, visitors to the tavern and residents of London.
How long does it take?
"Kinaston" is a performance, reviews of which have never mentioned how long the action lasts. Meanwhile, the performance goes on for three hours, filled with psychological moments important for understanding what is happening.
When going to the "Snuffbox", you need to have not 3.5 hours left, but at least 4, because the performance causes an irresistible desire to sit down in the nearest restaurant or bar and discuss what you see, or walk around and think.
What do they say?
"Kinaston" is a performance that began to collect reviews even before the first performance. This premiere was awaited by all Moscow theater-goers - both critics and spectators. Information publications wrote about it long before the start of rehearsals, and on the sidelines the performance was discussed at the stage of choosing artists.
Therefore, after the first performance, there was no flurry of responses either on theatrical forums, or on social networks, or on thematic portals. However, the opinions and comments left are full of the highest ratings for the acting, magnificent costumes, impeccable plasticity and, of course, dynamic action that does not allow one to be distracted for a minute are noted.
A comedy with disguises is Pisarev's longtime strong point, but Pisarev probably also finds travesty in its purest form tiresome, he wants plots with meaning, "with meaning", with history. The plot of "Kynaston" is also win-win because it is known quite well thanks to Richard Eyre, who thirteen years ago perfectly filmed a completely mediocre (of course, if Stoppard, not Ludwig is taken as a standard) play by Hatcher, the film was shown in the Russian-language box office under an ugly altered title " Beauty in English", the main role in it was played by Billy Crudup:
In Pisarev's production, the role of the protagonist, the actor Kynaston, the performer of the female roles of Shakespeare's repertoire in the era of the Restoration (2nd half of the 17th century), who, with his defiant behavior, provoked the royal wrath and paid with well-being, went to Maxim Matveev, who, in fact, the entire performance on himself and pulls out. True, I watched the cast with Pyotr Rykov as Buckingham, a homosexual aristocrat, Kinaston's lover - Rykov deserves mention only insofar as Kirill Rubtsov from the Vakhtangov Theater was invited to the first cast for Buckingham, I suppose, more vivid and organic in this image. All the rest - from King Charles II (Vitaly Egorov) to comedians - are rude and one-dimensional here. Scenography by Zinovy Margolin effectively masters the technical possibilities of the stage, but does not set a meaningful spatial image.
Theatricality and psychologism, ideally fused in Eyre's film, are presented separately by Pisarev, as if fragments of Primadonnas alternated with scenes from The House That Swift Built (although I don’t even know which of the two options makes me sicker and separately) : comic episodes are solved at the level of a travesty show, dramatic episodes are played with provincial anguish. However, Matveev, with his plastic abilities and precision of intonation, somehow manages to pass from travesty in this primitive structure (the apotheosis of which is the plug-in number in the second act: after a royal decree forbidding men to play women on stage and a severe beating, Kinaston performs in taverns with vulgar couplets about a man without eggs for the amusement of a drunken riffraff) to real drama. He is partly supported in joint scenes by Zhenya Borzykh and Anya Chipovskaya (the first plays a woman who is drawn to the hero as a man, which is difficult for him to reciprocate; the second is an actress, for whom Kinaston is primarily a model and mentor). But one way or another, what surprised and delighted Eyre in the film, in the performance, for the most part, causes boredom, bewilderment, and even disgust.
Well, that is, it causes me, but people are delighted, another box office hit from Pisarev seems to be ready for use - although tickets for pre-premiere shows for 4-5 thousand until the last remained on free sale, but there were overruns on the runs, a competition for several people in place! Or is it just me every time so lucky? It seems that Pizdenysh, and Dimon, and Red-haired Lyuda, and Khorovik sat down normally without a ticket, but as soon as I come to the Snuffbox, it turns out that the places are "double": they send the administrator, double-check the invitations, they are passionately interested in who invited, to what surname ... - it means that they recognize and accept with honor, specify just in case, in order to avoid such overlays in the future! Well, I also help the theater as much as I can - now I constantly photograph invitations, record conversations with the administrator - you never know for what reason it will come in handy to use it ... It’s strange, though, it turns out: even when double places are technically impossible, as in this case - there was an invitation issued by the administrator, and a free ticket on a strict accountability form with an individual barcode - all the same, special attention from the administration falls to my lot. In fact, as they say, "to describe in a play, and then play on the stage ..." - what a comedy could come out of the intra-theatrical life-being not of the English ... of the twelfth century, but of our cheerful days! But a song about a man without eggs in it would also come in handy.
Fans of adventurous, captivating, historical drama will be a pleasant discovery by the performance of Kynaston. Based on the famous and popular play by the American playwright Jeffrey Hatcher, the production directed by Yevgeny Pisarev takes viewers to England in the middle of the 17th century, when the theater occupied a dominant place in the culture of the Restoration. It was at this time that cardinal changes took place in the nature of the conduct of dramatic and comedy productions. Shakespearean theater required all female roles in performances to be played by men.
This rule was preserved for a long time: brutal actors played men, and young men played beautiful ladies. But already in the second half of the seventeenth century, King Charles II issued a decree according to which now only actresses were to be on stage in female roles. Hatcher's play touches on this historical reality, which has become a problem for the protagonist of the play, actor Edward Kynaston. This outstanding artist, who really played on the stage of London theaters, captivated the audience with his brilliant female images.
But the release of the royal law put his career in jeopardy. Meanwhile, his constant costume designer Maria dreams of the stage, imitates Edward's movements, learns to imitate his demeanor during the performance. She knows by heart all the popular plays and one day she tries her hand at staging a little-known theater. But Maria's debut causes a great resonance in society, and now she is invited to a reception at the royal palace. To find out what awaits the heroes next, whether the former costume designer will help her former idol find a job, whether the girl will be able to overcome the temptation of fame, you must definitely buy tickets for the Kinaston performance.
But it is not only Matveev's plastique that he mastered to perfection admires, but the absolute entry into the image, the reincarnation, the level of acting skills that you rarely see on the Moscow stage today are striking.
A well-known actress Anna Chipovskaya became a worthy partner of Matveev in the performance. And their performance, especially in the final scene, is simply breathtaking.
And all the actors involved in the performance - Mikhail Khomyakov, Vitaly Egorov, Kirill Rubtsov and others, deserve praise.
First time not at home
The director of the play, Yevgeny Pisarev, the artistic director of the Pushkin Theater, admitted that he cheated on his theater for the first time. He had previously staged musical performances on other stages, and a drama one, for the first time, not at home.
But Snuffbox, as the director said, is a special case. Firstly, because Pisarev considers himself a student of Tabakov, and secondly, as an actor he played in the play "Snuffboxes" and knows the troupe well.
Is it a male profession?
“After watching, Oleg Pavlovich said that this performance finally answered the question clearly whether this is a male profession - an artist. Yes, it is male, requiring real courage, difficult mentally and physically,” Pisarev emphasized.
According to him, "Kinaston" is more of a story about a crisis that happens to every person, and in addition to external interventions.
“Kinaston was extremely successful and loved, and in one second he suddenly found himself at the bottom of life, in the garbage. How to be able to withstand both fame and humiliation and at the same time remain a person worthy of respecting himself and his work?” the main theme of the play.
The performance at the Theater under the direction of Oleg Tabakov is just beginning to live, but the first step has been taken with confidence. "Kinaston" promises to become one of the main hits of the Moscow theatrical season. The premiere screenings will take place on 7, 21 and 22 September.
How I love the Snuffbox. This theater is one of the "five" of my favorites, which also include the theater. Vakhtangov, workshop of P. Fomenko, STI, theater in the South-West. I am ready to visit these theaters every day, however, the income of a pensioner does not allow this.
On Friday we went to the performance of "Kinaston" in the new building of the Snuffbox on Sukharevka. 
Tickets, as usual, bought on the Internet. I always regret that not all theaters provide this service.
In the new building of the Snuffbox on Sukharevka (Malaya Sukharevskaya Square, building 5) we were for the first time.
Everyone who loved the basement at Chaplygin Street remembers that it was cramped and stuffy there. In the hall it was possible to see well the play of the actors only in the first three rows.
And here we are in the new "Snuffbox": a large new building located in the building of a business center, a bright lobby, a spacious auditorium, the rows are located with a rise, so the view of the stage does not suffer.
All employees are in beautiful gray uniforms (the color of the theater itself), smart young people in the wardrobe, everything is stylish and very modern.
If there's anything to complain about, it's the buffet. Frustrates the lack of guilt. Only juices, waters and dubious pastries.
It would be necessary to make a buffet for the new Snuffbox, as in the old one.
In general, we did not stand for a cup of coffee.
Now about the performance itself.
Edward Kynaston is an English actor of the 17th century, known for playing female roles, because in those days women were forbidden to play in the theater.
An accidental quarrel with Charles II's young mistress, Nell Gwyn, leads the king to issue a Decree forbidding men to play female roles.
As a result, the main character loses his job. He does not succeed in playing male roles, that's what he says about this.
- I studied for 14 years until I killed all the male movements and intonations in myself!
Do women play women? But what is the game then?
Edward was brilliantly played by Maxim Matveev. I didn't even know he was that talented. Do you remember Lenin's phrase: "You must firmly remember that of all the arts, cinema is the most important for us"?
I never thought so. Only a theater where it is impossible to make duplicates, where the actor is one on one with us, the audience.
I never take pictures during the performance, I had to look for a photo of Maxim on the Internet.
He looks haggard. 
It remains to be seen whether he lost weight for this role or has always been like that. Tolya mockingly said that Liza Boyarskaya did not feed him.
True, I found information that Maxim needed to lose kilograms to embody the main role in the play "Kinaston".
But he will have to play in other performances, and in the cinema. What will he do? According to it, you can already study the anatomy of the human body.
However, the magnificent game of Maxim overshadowed his emaciated appearance.
Another main role is given to Anna Chipovskaya.
She plays Kynaston's rival, Margaret Hughes. It is she who will be entrusted to play all the female roles that he played.
The finale, where Kynaston plays Othello and Margaret Hughes plays Desdemona, is one of the strongest scenes.
Anna is great on stage. Bravo to her! 
Director Yevgeny Pisarev staged a wonderful performance.
Among those who pleased along with the main characters, our old love with my daughter is Vitaly Egorov. The best "Idiot" I have not seen in the theater. It is a pity that the performance was withdrawn from the repertoire. Apparently, a new performer with the same intensity of passions, with the same plastique, was not found in the theater. And Yegorov had already passed the age of Prince Myshkin.
In this production, he played the king. 
To the left of Anna Chipovskaya is Mikhail Khomyakov, also dearly beloved by me. My nephew Roma was in the same class as his daughter, and sometimes we got tickets for performances with his participation.
I saw him in the role of Boris Kurochkin in “Overstocked Barrel”, “Enough Simplicity for Every Wise Man” (Mamaev), “At the Bottom” (Bubnov), “Idiot” (Totsky), “Running” (White Commander-in-Chief), “Two Angels , four people ”(Someone Strontsillov). I love the last show.
In this performance, he plays the owner of the theater in which Kynaston serves - Thomas Betterton.
And it is impossible not to mention the mistress of the king - Nell Gwyn performed by Anastasia Timushkova.
He plays superbly, before that I had not seen in the troupe of this theater. 
In general, go and see. Spare no money. The performance is worth it.
