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She's Nina: Joy Rieger put on a perfect (too) acting show as the star of Chekhov's Seagull
The Gesher Theater marks its 30th anniversary with a new production of the acclaimed Russian playwright's masterpiece, having returned to consciousness in the "Rehearsals" series.
The melancholy and despair are still at the heart of Chekhov's famous "comedy," but one supreme game show alone is worth the ticket price.
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The seagull
Bridge Theater
Joy Rieger
Sasha Demidov
Efrat Ben Tzur
Living Room Fellow
Friday, 12 November 2021, 03:10 Updated: 06:28
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Despair does not get more comfortable, but it is funny at times. "The Seagull" at the Gesher Theater (Photo: Daniel Kaminsky)
"I, Miri Regev Siboni from Kiryat Gat, the daughter of Felix and Marcel Siboni, have never read Chekhov." It seems that since the same interview with Naama Lansky in "Israel Today" in 2015, the name of the famous Russian playwright goes hand in hand with the name of the former Minister of Culture. In fact, Miri Regev's angry monologue already felt in real time as if it had been written by Chekhov himself. Everyone remembers the headlines, but Regev's text had a lot of subtext that felt like it came from the worlds of Russian symbolism. "Whoever needs culture is necessarily a cultural person?", Regev asks, and without waiting for an answer immediately shoots another question: "The fact that you do not know who Chekhov is makes you a non-cultural person?". Israel's cultural elite dismissed her remarks with contempt, but on a sober look these are profound philosophical questions, ones that ironically could have been said by one of Chekhov's complex figures.
Exactly 120 years before that interview, in 1895, "The Seagull," the first of Chekhov's classic plays, was written.
As far as Moscow's cultural elite is concerned, it is possible that Chekhov was more of a Regev shooter than a Regev shooter.
"I forgot that writing plays and acting can only be a select minority. I challenged exclusivity!"
Later he will erupt at her again, screaming: "You have taken over the art world and it seems to you that only what you are doing is quality and real, you are suppressing and suffocating everyone else!".
It is hard not to recognize in Kostya the same rage of Miri Regev, who was angry at the contempt for the Arab culture from which she grew up: "I listened to Joe Amar, and I am no less cultured than all consumers of Western culture."
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Not a big follower of subtext, but Chekhov would probably agree with her. Former Minister of Culture Miri Regev (Photo: Reuven Castro)
After suffering from a long period with no culture at all, the Gesher Theater marks 30 years since its inception with a new production of "The Seagull." It's the same play that went up in St. Petersburg in 1896, received rave reviews and dropped after just five performances. And here he is, still here, celebrated anew - and perhaps thanks also to Noa Koller and Erez Driggs who brought him back to consciousness with the scene "I am Nina" in the series "Rehearsals".
And maybe really first of all you need to refer to the granddaughter in the room. Dozens, and possibly hundreds of actresses, would like to play the role of "Nina" in Israel, probably after seeing Lake Rodberg break down when she loses the role to Mia Landsman. Due to this, it is possible that the craft of casting for the role was the most significant in the current production. I will preface the latter and state in advance: this is a perfect casting, in all respects. Later in the text I will describe the only problem I had with Rieger's perfect gameplay, but it will be so petty that I can recommend in advance to ignore it.
While the entire lyrics, ideas and atmosphere are rooted in late 19th century Russia, Joy Rieger's great-granddaughter is like a 21st century character born by mistake in the wrong place and at the wrong time.
The texts in her mouth glorify theater and literature, but she seems to be talking about stories on Instagram.
Confuses glory with art.
Drawn to commercial success and confusing love with obsessive infatuation with the idea of love.
How easy it is to identify with the character, just as easy to shy away from it.
But Rieger pours on her performance a tone of irony, grace and humor that erupts from her with such lightness that it seems for a moment that she is not really playing, but living the role.
It's an experience that rarely happens in the theater, that an actor makes you forget he's playing.
This rare experience alone is worth the ticket price.
Sheds a tone of irony, grace and humor that bursts from her lightly.
Joy Rieger in the "Seagull" of the Gesher Theater (Photo: screenshot, trailer "The Seagull" on the Gesher website)
Over the years, countless versions of the play have emerged, across a variety of platforms and languages. Jewish-American film director Sydney Lumet made the play accessible to a wide audience in 1968 in a cinematic version that maintains high fidelity to the original, except in the ending scene. Another cinematic version came up in 2018, and despite a respectable cast list with names like Annette Benning, Sirsha Ronen and Elizabeth Moss, left no special impression on viewers.
There seem to be very few more forced roles as good in modern theater as trying to deal with Chekhov's classics. If you follow the original text, you will be perceived as conservative. If you try to innovate too much, they will say it is a blasphemy. Even Konstantin Stanislavsky, who took a risk and brought "The Seagull" to the Moscow stages in 1898 after the failure in St. Petersburg, and turned the play into a dizzying success, received harsh criticism from Chekhov himself, who resented the realistic design of the characters.
Director Yair Sherman has chosen an interesting middle ground in the new production of "Gesher". Knowing that every small change can change the whole underground narrative of the masterpiece, it seems that every cut in the text is made with a scalpel and surgeons. A great decision was to stick to using one name for each character. Nina, originally sometimes called Zarchenia, is always Nina. Irina Nikolaevna Arcadina Trafalva is simply Arcadina, etc. Amazing how little change can make a classic more accessible.
On the other hand, despite the necessary cuts, the show still lasts for almost three hours because Sherman knows how to appreciate and prolong any pause. There is art in procrastination as well, and the audience of "Bridge" recognizes this. Chekhov's dialogues were revolutionary at the time, but it is the human reactions that make his plays so sweeping even today. These are also the moments that made the audience respond with spontaneous bursts of laughter.
The Israeli Brad Pitt? Sasha Demidov as the doctor Dorn in the "Seagull" of the Gesher Theater (Photo: Daniel Kaminsky)
It's almost hard to believe, but "The Seagull" was defined by Chekhov as a "four-act comedy." The joke in Russia in those days was that Chekhov has a broken dictionary, as he does not understand the meaning of the word "comedy". Indeed, it is easy to get lost in the human melancholy that accompanies Chekhov's stories and plays. What could be more funny in the story of "The Seagull"? A triangle of disappointed love meets another triangle of disappointed love (or is it a square at all, including a son who is in love with his mother's lover's lover), and on the way depression meets failure and it all ends in a foregone conclusion. So what's funny here? Please Araf, the world is funny so laugh.
Some of the laughter in the audience, no doubt, also came from a slight embarrassment. The show is limited from the age of 16, which is a bit surprising for those who know Chekhov's text, but already in the first picture we get a hot sex scene, which brings us to the famous opening with the question: "Why do you always wear black?", And the answer "comic"Of: "I mourn my life."
Sexual permissiveness, which may have always been present in Chekhov's subtext, is presented by Sherman in the most unequivocal way possible. It is possible that in 2021 this is almost required, but in my eyes it is the carpet part of the depth of the characters. Instead of going against logic following blind love, some of the characters (mostly men) think and act through their genitals. And so, for example, Trigorin's character makes decisions based on momentary passion and lust. It culminates when Nina takes off her coat, and remains completely naked. The thing is that Trigorin was in love with her to the brides even without seeing her perfect body, which makes the scene exceptionally superfluous in terms of plot.
On the other hand, the strength of these moments cannot be ignored. As always, nude scenes cause a vibration of embarrassment in the theater audience, but Joy Rieger's nudity also adds an element of compassion. Even if you've seen Nina humiliated, defeated and lost in a dizzy spell in dozens of different productions, you still have not seen her so exposed, literally. Rieger managed to make clear in a few seconds of nudity how determined Nina was in her love. She is not seductive, but determined out of desperation. Without words, she shouted "I'm a Nina!", Much louder than what the character of Lake Rodberg shouted in that viral segment.
More effective was the sex scene between Arcadina (Efrat Ben Tzur) and Trigorin (Mickey Leon).
Originally from Chekhov, Irina regains her lover's loyalty by stroking his ego, while in the current version she does so through much more physical and tangible stroking.
It is amazing to see how Chekhov's original text works just as well against the backdrop of an animal orgasm, with Trigorin's reaction remaining unchanged: "I have no willpower. I have never had willpower."
It was as impressive as watching Simon Bales land at the end of a breathtaking exercise.
The crowd, free from embarrassment like lightning, bursts out laughing.
Shouted "I am Nina" without words.
Joy Rieger in the "Seagull" of the Gesher Theater (Photo: Daniel Kaminsky)
The secondary characters help keep the show accessible and flowing, with no dead moments and a lot of dry and sweet humor. Tali Osadchi excels as a woman, who mentions that depression can come in many forms (and addictions). Eli Menashe is effective as the teacher from Davdenko, perhaps the most real character in the play. And of course Sasha Demidov, in the role of Dr. Dorn, the girls' favorite. Demidov lightly entered the character of Don Joan, as if he were a Hebrew Brad Pitt. The days are long before the MeToo revolution, and Dorn lives a good life but is jealous of anyone who engages in art free to flirt with all the cast women. His relationship with Polina, the wife of the farm manager, becomes particularly naughty and forbidden, with a slight reversal of roles from the original. The fact that Polina's character is played by Svetlana Demidov, his wife in reality, helps to get the mutual flirtations in a more comical way.
Shmaraev, the director of the economy, also receives an excellent comedic performance by Doron Tavori.
Something in the contrast between the rough and stingy character and his tenderness towards the world of theater makes him a perfect comedic break.
A kind of combination we did not know could be possible between the character of JK Simmons in "Flash" and Joseph Shiloah in "Alex Sick of Love".
A combination of the character of JK Simmons in "Flash" and Joseph Shiloah in "Alex is Sick of Love".
Doron Tavori in the "Seagull" of the Gesher Theater (Photo: Daniel Kaminsky)
But in the end, the show rises and falls on the main characters, where as mentioned it was a great casting job. Efrat Ben Tzur is not the first name I would think of for Arcadina's role, but her casting makes the stingy actress a great diva out of life. Ben Tzur's contribution ends not only on stage, but also in the musical editing of the production, including writing original music. And so, during one of the short pauses, the entire cast suddenly bursts into Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" song. Theater purists will surely froth from this moment, which breaks the credibility. After all, how did Dave Gahan get to a Russian mansion in the late 19th century? But perhaps in Chekhov's it is worthwhile from time to time to commit a crime against realism. Plus, a composed version of "My heart! Forget it! Both of us!" Of Emily Dickinson, fits so naturally into the play that it is not clear how it was staged to this day without her.
Shlomi Bartonov, who was chosen for the role of Kostya, was sent time and time again to break the fourth screen and present the look of the place in the opening of the systems. Despite the burden (unnecessary and pathetic, it should be noted) that landed on him, Bartonov manages to maintain credibility even within the range of emotions that the most miserable character goes through in a play saturated with unhappy characters. And yet, despite the assumption, his game display is uneven. On the one hand, his outbursts of rage towards his mother were impressive and authentic. On the other hand, something about the character's obsession with his beloved Nina, who is at the base of the play, is unconvincing. And maybe that's the price this love story pays for replacing some of the subtext with sex scenes.
Even Mickey Leon, whose stage presence as the writer Trigorin is unquestionable, obscures the decision to pepper the show with a sexy seasoning.
Chekhov has placed with Trigorin some of the most powerful monologues in the play, and his character goes through an entire journey that begins with falling in love that stops in submission, continues in rebellion and ends in a pathetic escape back to his safe place.
In between, Chekhov lets viewers figure out for themselves how morally distorted Trigorin was, who abandoned his mistress a moment after their common son died.
But Leon does not seem to be trying to present a weak trigorine, perhaps even the opposite, and the result is a bit confusing and even jarring.
Contributes on stage, and also musically.
Efrat Ben Tzur in the "Seagull" of the Gesher Theater (Photo: Daniel Kaminsky)
And back to Joy Rieger, because how can you not. Nina's role loses its innocence, which is a dangerous choice. Rieger's great-granddaughter is not as pure and white as the metaphorical "seagull," but like the real bird, the one who can poop on your head at times, without losing promille from her animal beauty. Already on her first foray into the stage, Nina's 2021 version of the Gesher Theater is sent to perform a punk rock piece based on Russian text from 125 years ago, wearing a see-through wedding dress, while the playwright's in-the-play playwright wears revealing BDSM clothes and holds a microphone between her legs Which creates a vulgar and so unexpected view even before we began to understand who is against whom. Pause. breathing. Arranging thoughts. conclusion. It just would not have worked had it not been for Rieger's magic.
The first three sets, which were presented in a non-stop sequence of an hour and forty, passed in a simple flight simply because every moment Rieger was on stage proved that "time passes quickly that we enjoy."
Still, a negative review of her show was promised and here she is: Rieger may have made Nina too perfect.
Chekhov's granddaughter was a mediocre actress, in a world where "the level of mediocre actors is much higher."
But the gameplay in Joy Rieger's play-in-play was just as wonderful as her entire show.
The question arises, is Joy Rieger unable to issue a bad acting display, even if the script requires it?
Can be, but how do we say?
Do not cry over taste and smell.
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