Goodbye, umbrella. Oratorio of Aurelia. Press about the performances. VIII International Theater Festival named after. A.P. Chekhov. Three circus performances of the Chaplin-Thiers family, shown one after another, formed a plot about the lost world of childhood

A regular participant in the Chekhov Festival, Charlie Chaplin's grandson James Thierre brought his new play "The Frog Was Right" to Moscow. A phantasmagoric production at the intersection of drama, acrobatics and pantomime, in which Thierre acted as director, set designer, composer and performer at the same time, it tells the story of an underground creature who trusted a person and was deceived.

After the premiere screening on June 26, James Thierre told the site why he often comes to Russia, remembered his first meeting with a frog and explained why there is no need to tell stories in the theater.

James Thierre - the son of Victoria Chaplin and Jean-Baptiste Thierre - started out in the circus arena. His parents are considered one of the inspirers of the “New Circus” - a movement that combines drama, theater and traditional circus genres in the arena.

In 1998, Thierre decided to continue the work of his parents and founded the “May Bug Company” (“May Bug” is the actor’s childhood nickname, which his parents gave him). His first performance in the genre of the "New Circus" was called "Symphony of the Maybug". He was awarded four Molières, the highest theater award in France.

Photo gallery

During a missile test, the Indian military destroyed a space satellite that was in low Earth orbit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in an address to the nation.1 of 8

That we don't understand anything

You better not ask me what this story is about. I think that everyone will determine both the meaning and the plot for themselves. Many people wonder: why is the frog red? So, this is a mystery. Let this be our secret.

The more performances I do, the less I understand and the less the audience should understand what exactly is being said. This is the beauty and magic of the theater: we create poetry, we invite your imagination and our mysteries to go on an adventure. I think this is the magic of theater. In cinema, as for me, there is no such thing - they just tell some kind of story.

I don't want to tell stories. I want to play with the theme, with the imagination, but certainly not go into stories.

Even if you have gray hair, you think you understand life very well and don't believe in fairy tales, sometimes you have to allow yourself a moment of spontaneity that will take you to another reality. Would you say that there is only deception in the performances? But the theater is real. Even too real.

About madness and working with wood

I prepared this performance for about a year, from the moment the idea came to its full implementation. We had three months of extremely intense rehearsals. In general, I realized that it is a huge misconception to focus on whether the audience will understand what the play is about. Here you need not so much to understand as to feel.

Life is much crazier than my performances. Inspiration, ideas? They all come from life. I was influenced by many things: family, my childhood, the circus... I came from a strong traditional theater school. And it's time to show what I'm capable of.

It's like working with wood. When a child watches his father cutting something out of an ordinary piece of wood, he smells the wood, touches it, and remembers the moment. And then he grows up and repeats the same thing, and also begins to work with wood. But in my own way.

About the decorations that the child made

We brought this huge machine to Moscow, and it stopped working. And this, in fact, is the central object on the stage, the most important element. Of course we fixed everything. But this is a very fragile mechanism, everything works with manual control, no computers.

It's like a child inventing a toy. A big, simply gigantic toy, with long threads, a spiral staircase, glowing wires, triangular bowls and more. You look at it and think: it’s all really as if a kid designed it.

In general, this car is like a separate character in the play. This is a talisman, and a god, and a prison. It seems to me that the viewer himself determines what it means to him.

On the attitude of Russians to the theater

A performance in Russia is a challenge every time. I noticed that Russians take theater very seriously. And because of this I have more responsibility. In Russia I always have to be head and shoulders above myself. Perhaps this is partly why I come back here.

In France, in my opinion, the main thing in a production is fullness, some kind of intellectual component. This is not enough for the Russian viewer; they need to feel everything. The performance must be very strong. Russians always talk about theater very thoughtfully.

"Well, shall we go to the theater? Maybe yes, maybe no..." They can say that everywhere, but not here. According to my feelings, in Russia people seem to have to, well, simply have to watch the performance. Whether they love him or hate him doesn't matter. This will be a very deep, internal reaction.

Theater in Russia is a beloved one. Yes, there is politics, there is religion, but theater has one of the first roles.

About borscht and body language

It is impossible to predict the reaction to my performances. It's different in every country. In one room the audience can die of laughter, in another it can only smile. By the way, they always laugh at different moments, you can’t guess here either. It all depends on the people and the country. We can hear everything very well from the stage. One actor once asked me: “They don’t laugh. Okay, don’t they like it?” I explained about this difference in perception. This really happens.

I have my own language in the performance - this is body language. Sometimes, of course, words slip through. For example, we speak a little Russian. We immediately learned the word “thank you”. But words, in fact, are not needed. You will understand us anyway.

In Moscow I like to eat borscht and walk. True, the city center is currently being renovated, and walking is a bit problematic. But be careful - you can. For me, the people who sit opposite us in the hall are much more important. It was worth coming back for them.

About father's SMS and fairy tales

I know that in Russia there are a lot of fairy tales about frogs. They turn into princesses, princes, and give advice. This is such a magical creature. And very wise. So maybe the frog knows what my performance is about.
I think you have all heard at least one fairy tale about a frog in childhood. I didn't want to pick any particular frog. It is much more important to convey this atmosphere of something fabulous.

I thought a lot about the title of the play. And somehow I remembered one funny story from my childhood. I was about five years old, we were returning after a long trip with the circus. I remember my parents left to carry their suitcases from the car home, and I was left standing on the road. I stood there for an hour. At home they were already starting to worry about where I was. And I just found a frog and talked to it. When he returned home, he said: “The frog told me so much! And she also said that I know nothing about life.”

We really don't know anything about our lives.. Remember how in "Game of Thrones"? "You know nothing, Jon Snow!"

When I do something crazy, incomprehensible, absurd, Dad sends me one simple message: "James, the frog was right."

In fact, James Thiérrée (born May 2, 1974) really doesn't like it when people mention that he is the great comedian's grandson. “We all have parents and grandparents, and we take something from each of them. But in my case, it’s always Chaplin, Chaplin, Chaplin,” James says sadly.
But he not only has an obvious resemblance to his grandfather - he has the same mane of curly (now “salt and pepper”) hair and eyes of a soft, blue-gray hue as Chaplin, in addition, James inherited his masterly talent own your body.

Raoul par James Thierrée. Photo by C. Calais.

James Thierre is an acrobat, mime, performer, director, violinist and dancer.

James and Charlie: curls and eye color are inherited))

And Charlie Chaplin was not only an excellent actor, mime, acrobat and director of his own films, he also wrote music for them, and independently taught himself to play the violin and piano.

Charles Chaplin (on the right, with a violin - in case anyone doesn’t recognize the actor without a mustache and eyeliner)

James Tierre in the movie "On My Own"

Well, Chaplin moved so precisely that Vaslav Nijinsky himself told him that he was a born dancer.

Thierre said in an interview: "I see that everyone constantly compares us, but it has never affected me. My profession is my choice. Otherwise, I would never have done it. I constantly feel that I have to prove myself ".

photo by Richard Haughton

Did James have a choice of profession?

Already at the age of four, James Thierre, along with his three-year-old sister Aurelia, toured with his parents, portraying a suitcase with legs in the show. Their father Jean-Baptiste Thierre and mother Victoria Chaplin founded their own circus in the late 1970s Le Cirque Invisible, very different from the classic one - with its unusable sawdust and trained animals.

Jean-Baptiste Thierry and Victoria Chaplin

“My mother, Victoria, has a very romantic story. She was eighteen, living with my grandparents, Charlie and Una, in Vevey, near Lausanne, and taking dance lessons. My grandfather (Charlie Chaplin) planned to star in her new film The Freak.

Charlie Chaplin and Victoria are preparing to film The Freak.

So her photograph was published in the magazine, along with an interview in which she was quoted as saying that she would like to become a circus clown.

My father (a French actor who starred in films for Alain Resnais and Federico Fellini) saw the article and wrote to her, saying that he was going to create a new kind of circus.

Jean-Baptiste Thierry

My mother answered him. He went to Lausanne and they met in secret because she knew that Charlie and Una would be against him. Then she and my father ran away. My mother, who was about the same age as Una when she married Charlie, was very beautiful, with huge blue-gray eyes and fair skin. She's fifty-five and still looks the same. A Freak It was never filmed."
The children of Victoria and Jean-Baptiste were taught at home, but when James turned twelve he went to Paris to an American school, where he improved his English. “Most of the kids at school were the children of diplomats,” he said. “I was the son of a clown. You know how vicious children can be. We were outsiders, outcasts. Traveling constantly from place to place taught us instability. But there is something constant with us was: we looked at our parents at work."
In addition, James trained as an actor in the magnificent Piccolo Teatro di Milano, studied at Harvard Theater School and the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art in Paris.

Handsome James has appeared in films several times.
Here are some interesting projects in which he was seen:

At the age of fifteen, Thierry played Ariel with Peter Greenaway in the beautiful film “The Books of Prospero”, where his acrobatic skills came in handy

In the film "Vatel" - played a small role of the Duke de Longueville,

For the film Twice upon a Time 2006 was nominated for a Cesar Award as Most Promising Actor.
- in the film by director of gypsy origin Tony Gatlif "On My Own" ( Korkoro, 2009) Thierry played a gypsy named Talosh. The role turned out to be very bright, because Talosh has the mind of a child and looks at the world with naive eyes. A very beautiful film, but the plot, which tells about the fate of the gypsies in Nazi-occupied France, does not mean easy viewing. By the way, it recently turned out that Chaplin also had gypsy roots, so we can say: James was drawn to this film by blood))

But James is known to others.

In 1998, Thierry founded his own theatrical campaign La Compagnie Du Hanneton, on the stage of which he staged several performances that received excellent reviews from critics and brought him four Moliere Prizes. The style of these shows is a mixture of pantomime and acrobatics.

- La Symphonie du Hanneton

- La Veillée des Abysses, 2003

- Au Revoir Parapluie, 2007 (by the way, he was brought to Moscow)

- Raoul, 2009 (costumes for this performance and many others staged La Compagnie Du Hanneton created by James's mother Victoria)

Premiere of a new production Tabac Rouge expected summer 2013

Well, for those who are interested in the work of this actor, there is great news - you can see his play "Raoul" on the stage of the Mossovet Theater(Moscow) within the framework of the XI International Theater Festival named after. A.P. Chekhov 2013! Performance dates: May 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25.

The International Chekhov Festival is in full swing. This year, critics predict the role of the main character of the show to be the grandson of the famous Charlie Chaplin, James Tierra. A clown, acrobat, dancer and poet, he will present to the public his production “The Frog Was Right”, in which he is at the same time a director, set designer, music author and performer.

Where have you been for an hour, the parents of little James Thiere once asked. “Talking to a frog,” Charlie Chaplin’s five-year-old grandson answered without hesitation. Today he is 43, and he continues to invent new incredible stories. And we believe him.

Actor, dancer, acrobat, mime, all over the world he has long been called a genius. But, as you know, great talent is always accompanied by loneliness. The play “The Frog Was Right” is just about this.

“I heard that in Russia there are a lot of fairy tales about frogs. This is a magical creature, it can turn into a beautiful girl or a prince, or it can become a monster that keeps children in a dungeon. But I don’t choose a specific fairy tale, I’m just trying to create that atmosphere, mysterious, mystical, like in childhood,” says James Tierre.

The main characters of his tale are adult children. The same as Tierre himself. They were kidnapped by the immortal princess of the underworld in revenge for her broken heart. But will they be able to return to the forgotten earthly world, when an endless staircase leads to nowhere, and they have to fight either with the laws of gravity or with each other?

This is a parable about love, betrayal and man's desire for freedom. And only he can tell it so heartfelt and touching, as if hypnotizing with every movement and thus bewitching with his Chaplin-like gaze. And even when James Thierre speaks in a language he invented, everything is clear.

“We call it “Gibrish”, it is such a hybrid of all languages ​​known to us and it seems to me that it is understandable to everyone, because in essence we all speak the same way. We are equally happy and sad, we want something or, on the contrary, we don’t want it. The main thing here is to play with intonation,” explains the actor.

The absolute favorite of the public, James Thierre, as always, brought tons of complex decorations to Moscow, and many of these bizarre things are not included - dilapidated furniture, an antique piano and even a glass swimming pool.

The scenery is also the fruit of Tier's indefatigable imagination, and he also wrote the music for the play, those soul lullabies that the insidious frog sings to the children every now and then.

This is James Thierre's fourth visit to Russia. However, he is not the only one from the Chaplin dynasty who tours the world with his fantastic productions. His sister Aurelia also visited the Chekhov Theater Festival.

By the way, theater lovers still have a whole month to see the most popular performances in the world. Very soon new hits from Robert Lepage and Peter Brook will come to Moscow. And for the first time in the capital, a phenomenon from the Netherlands - director Ivo Van Hove. Over the past few years, he has won every theater award imaginable, from an Olivier Award to a Tony Award for his work on Broadway.

Tickets for Whiplash, starring Jude Law, at London's Barbican Theater are sold out a year in advance. Viewers of the Chekhov Festival next week will be able to see his “Secret Power” - a performance that Western critics call unique in its beauty and intensity of passions.

In the meantime, James Thierre receives his share of continuous applause. The spectators applaud while standing, do not leave for a long time and stand guard at the service entrance. Perhaps they want to ask what the frog told him then?

"She said, 'You don't know anything about life, James.' This, of course, was my fantasy. Many years have passed and, you know, my dad, when he doesn’t understand me, still sends messages with the text: “She was right.” The frog was right,” says James Thierre.

2. Charles Chaplin (Jr.) (1925-1968) - the second son of Charlie Chaplin from actress Lita Grey. Charlie died on March 20, 1968, 3 months shy of 43 years old.

3. Sydney Earl Chaplin ( Sydney Earl Chaplin (1926-2009) - American theater and film actor, was awarded for his services to theater and cinema. The third son of Charlie Chaplin and the second son of his second wife, actress Lita Gray. Named after his uncle Sydney Chaplin. The oldest of the sons, he played his father in the films Footlights and The Countess from Hong Kong.

Sydney Earl Chaplin died of a stroke on March 3, 2009, at the age of 82, at his ranch. He left behind his wife Margaret Biba Chaplin, son Stephen (from his first marriage) and granddaughter Tamara.

Remember, Charlie Chaplin's last wife was Una O'Neill , the age difference was 36 years. Their marriage was registered on June 16, 1943 in Carpinteria, a small village near Santa Barbara.

She gave the director three sons– Christopher, Eugene and Michael, and five daughters– Josephine, Joan, Victoria, Anna-Emile and Geraldine.

3. ́ Geraldine Lee Chaplin (Geraldine Leigh Chaplin, genus. July 31, 1944) - the eldest and beloved of the daughters of Chaplin and Oona, the most famous of all the children of the great artist. She made her first appearance in her father’s film “Lights of Footlights.” The real big debut took place in David Lean's film Doctor Zhivago. In 1992, she starred in the biographical film Chaplin.

For a quarter of a century she lived in Spain with her husband Carlos Saura and daughter Una. He appears in both Spanish-language and English-language films.

4. Michael Chaplin, Chaplin's Son (1946) , younger than Geraldine by a couple of years. My childhood was spent in luxury and comfort. Several nannies, maids, and governesses looked after the children. The mother devoted herself to caring for the father. Michael didn’t want to study; he was bored at school. All my father’s attempts to encourage me to take up my education had no effect. To teach Chaplin Jr. a lesson. Chaplin Sr. took him to star in the film "A King in New York", where Michael quite convincingly played his complete opposite - the child prodigy Rupert.

For several years he traveled with hippies, neglecting his parents' persuasion to start studying or working. Michael wrote a biography book, however, an extremely unsuccessful one, which was something of a clarification of problems with a famous parent, entitled “I Couldn’t Fumigate the Trees in My Father’s Garden.” But as a result, he got married and settled with his family in France on a village farm. They said that in the mid-70s. he wrote several books.

Now only Michael lives in the Swiss town of Vevey in the house where his great father spent his last years. Together with his brother Eugene they are working on a project for the future Charlie Chaplin museum on the family estate.

5. Josephine Chaplin (11.11.1949) - also an actress, she is considered the most beautiful of Charlie's daughters.

She married early, having received her father's blessing, to a wealthy man. However, she soon divorced him, took the child, named after her grandfather, and moved in with the French actor M. Rona. As a little girl, Josephine played in the film Footlights, where her father filmed her together with Michael and Geraldine.

6. Eugene Chaplin ( Eugene Chaplin,1953) , he inherited his name from his playwright grandfather; from childhood he was interested in cinema, theater and music, and worked as a sound technician.

After graduating from the directing department of the Academy of Dramatic Art, he proposed his candidacy for the post of director of the Geneva Opera. And the proposal was accepted. He did not have to use the name and authority of his famous father. And this was precisely what Charlie and Una were especially proud of.

7. Victoria Chaplin (1951), Victoria, or simply Vicky, was always my father’s favorite; she was most like her mother.

And it was she who brought Chaplin to real despair by marrying the clown Jean-Baptiste Thierry. The father had to come to terms with the fact that his beloved daughter also became a circus performer. Thierry ran his own circus, in which Victoria performed. They have two children - James and Aurelia Thierre.

8. Jane Chaplin (1957), daughter, which caused more anxiety among parents than all other children. She left her parents' home early and moved to Paris, dreaming of fame. She starred in "The Rainbow Thief" (1990).

9-10. Annette and Christopher Chaplin- Charlie's last children. There is practically no information about them. Maybe it was they who fulfilled the dream of Charlie Chaplin, who used to say: “I want at least one of my children to have an ordinary, decent profession and make a career as a good doctor, lawyer or engineer.”

11. Anna-Emile Chaplin was born when Charlie Chaplin was 72.

CHARLIE CHAPLIN'S GRANDCHILDREN

In general, the most famous...

Oona Chaplin of Castile was born on June 4, 1986 in Spain. Her mother - Geraldine Chaplin, daughter of Charlie Chaplin and Oona, and her father is also a kind of legend - Chilean cameraman Patricio Castilla. Thanks to this, Una received an excellent education. In addition to schools in Spain and Switzerland, she studied at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

She began her acting career in 2007 with a cameo role in the series “Ghosts”, and starred in the series “Sherlock” and “Game of Thrones” (Talisa Stark)

Una did not find her grandfather alive. She admits that she perceived his image only from films with his participation. "I know he's my grandfather, but when I think of him, I see a tramp"

Her first role in a major project was in the 2008 James Bond film: Quantum of Solace. Una also took part in the series “Game of Thrones”.

Una says that there are funny incidents at castings. “When people hear my name, they ask in a whisper: “Who has come?” Oona Chaplin? But isn’t Oona Chaplin dead yet?”

Aurelia Thierre ( Aurélia Thiérrée (September 24, 1971) - daughter Victoria Chaplin and Jean-Baptiste Thierret. Aurelia's parents began their careers as circus performers. Life under the dome quickly got boring, the couple decided to invent their own theater. They brought the best from under the big top to the theater stage - magic tricks, acrobatic performances, a little clownery and farce. It turned out something like a circus, but without trained bears. The troupe of the new theater quickly captivated the sophisticated audience in France. And so the troupe was replenished with young artists who were destined to continue the family traditions - Aurelia and James.

Aurelia Thierry starred in “Ghosts of Goya” (2006), “The People vs. Larry Flynt” (1996), “24 Measures” (2007), etc.

“We all have parents and grandparents, and we take something from each of them. But in my case, it’s always Chaplin, Chaplin, Chaplin,” James says sadly.

She made her film debut in 1991, in Wim Wenders' film Until the End of the World, and since then began to actively act in both films and television. She made her directorial debut with the short film "Tryst in Paname".

Dolores Chaplin(Dolores Chaplin) - granddaughter of the great Charlie Chaplin (Charles Chaplin) and great-granddaughter of the famous playwright Eugene O'Neill (Eugene O'Neill), daughter of Michael Chaplin (Michael Chaplin). Own name Dolly received in honor of the actress Dolores del Rio(Dolores del Rio).

Acting career Chaplin began in 1991, playing a cameo role in the film Wim Wenders (Wim Wenders)" When the world ends"("Bis ans Ende der Welt").

Sister Dolores, Carmen Chaplin(Carmen Chaplin), also became an actress and was also named after a Hollywood star - Carmen Miranda(Carmen Miranda).

Kiera Sunshine Chaplin born July 1, 1982, actress and model, originally from Northern Ireland. Kira's ancestors included not only the Irish, but also the English and Gypsies. Granddaughter of the famous Charlie Chaplin and great-great-granddaughter of Eugene O'Neill. Kira was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, she - Eugene Chaplin's eldest daughter, the fifth child of Charlie Chaplin and his last wife Oona O'Neill. During her childhood, she lived with her family in Switzerland, and currently lives in New York. Since the age of sixteen Kira Chaplin works as a professional model.

Sources from the Internet

On May 17, a press conference was held at the Marriott Hotel, the main person of which was the general director of the festival, Valery Shadrin.

The Chekhov Festival is held every two years, and this year celebrates the 20th anniversary of its birth. Over the years, the festival has gained a reputation as the most respected and large-scale forum in Russia. And not only in Russia. International respect is evidenced by the composition of the guests present at the press conference - the ambassadors of Israel, Canada and France, representatives of the embassies of Germany, the USA, Taiwan, and Great Britain. Before giving the floor to the guests, Valery Shadrin explained to journalists what and how the program is formed, looked into the past of the festival, remembered the “first signs”, mentioned all the masters, all the groups who were the first to respond to his initiative. “The program is born through contacts, from our common desire to preserve theater and culture. The motto of the Italian director Giorgio Strehler, “Theater for the people,” is still relevant. Therefore, we have put together a program that will be of interest to both true theatergoers and a wide range of viewers. The entertainment attracts the public. And we depend on the public. After all, there is not only a creative, but also an economic side of the issue. We receive one third of the funds from the Ministry of Culture, one third from the Moscow government, and the rest is our revenue.”

By the way, the festival poster is almost completely known; tickets for many performances are already on sale.

According to Valery Shadrin, the Chekhov Festival gives preference to new experimental productions that dominate modern theatrical art. Most performances are based on circus elements and modern dances. The public will see performances by Joseph Nudge, Emmanuel Demarcy-Mot, LIN Hwai-min and new works by Robert Lepage, Matthew Bourne and others.

The play “Raoul”, which opens the festival, was staged by James Thiers (grandson of Charlie Chaplin). Critics speak of him as the inventor of an otherworldly theatrical world, physical and animal. He is a mime, acrobat, clown, dancer, magician, violinist. James owes all his theatrical skills to his parents, who introduced him to their own performances “Imaginary Circus” and “Invisible Circus”. Having staged his first performance, The Maybug Symphony, James became a celebrity.

James Thiere said only a few words about the new play “Raoul” at a press conference: “I don’t like to explain my performances. The theater explains everything itself. I’m glad that “Raoul” is opening the festival. My performance is a celebration, glorifying theater as an eternal art. I've already been to Moscow. The romance with the Russian audience began with the play “Goodbye, Umbrella,” and that’s when I realized how receptive your audience is. There is no such audience anywhere in the world. Thank you". The festival's poster includes another member of the Chaplin family - granddaughter Aurelia Thiere, who will present the play "Whisper of the Walls" directed by her mother Victoria Thiere-Chaplin, the daughter of the great comedian. And if Raoul, that is, James, flies over the stage, plays the violin, meets fish, insects and elephants, then the world built by his sister is completely far from reality and does not fit into the framework of any theatrical genre. She is a magician and puppeteer who creates space from animated scenery.

The festival will last until July 14. The program is conditionally divided into three parts: the world series, the program of Moscow theaters “In Memory of Pyotr Naumovich Fomenko” and the regional one - “Performances of the 11th Moscow Theatre. Chekhov and international projects of the Chekhov Festival in the cities of Russia and Riga."

Read more in the “culture today” section (screen and stage).