Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Moscow Government – Moscow Government –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Oleg Tabakov's Moscow Theatre presents the premiere "Choice" in the "Basement" – a restored theater space on Chaplygina Street.
Vladimir Mashkov, artistic director of the Oleg Tabakov Theatre, explains: "Young actors, as well as experienced ones, are seriously trying their hand at directing. The play is being staged by our theatre's remarkable actress and director Alena Lapteva, together with the Tabakov Theatre's creative team." Sovremennik Theatre and our Oleg Tabakov Theatre School."
A cozy trap
The producers defined the play's genre as a psychological thriller. The action lasts an hour and a half without intermission, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. The plot grips you from the very first second, leaving no time to pause and reflect on what you've just witnessed.
The story moves quickly, the tension builds with no release, and watching it becomes a continuous journey through the most hidden and dark corners of the human soul.
The play was staged using a unique script, the unpredictability of which is intriguing. What choice are we talking about? What will the characters choose? What does this choice mean for each of us?
The stage is set for a cozy literary café: a few tables, a bar counter, and numerous bookcases. Open books hang from a chandelier. This place is a symbol of safety, intellectual comfort, dialogue, and the light of culture. A place where reason reigns. The welcoming atmosphere seems conducive to warm conversation, and the audience doesn't anticipate the impending conflict. They are relaxed by the café's atmosphere, and this makes the impending onslaught of emotional chaos all the more poignant.
The many books around hint at the experience of relationships between different people embedded in them and reinterpreted by this production.
"This is a story created by the actors and the director, tapping into human experience through artificial intelligence, about what has been said about choice over the millennia and what this theme of choice is. The performance is unusual, but filled with absolutely genuine feeling and emotion," says Vladimir Mashkov.
Breadwinner of Monsters
The action begins. A mysterious man (Honored Artist of Russia Vitaly Egorov) appears. He enters the café from a bustling street. The sounds of rain, passing cars, and conversation reach the viewer. He closes the door behind him, instantly cutting off the outside noise and finding himself in a quiet world of books, coffee, and the measured ticking of a clock. The man opens a large notebook and begins to write enthusiastically.
People bring their chaos, pain, and the noise of desires from the streets. In the cafe, the clock ticks steadily, giving time for decision-making; books offer the accumulated experience of humanity and act as silent judges.
Various people approach the hero, each asking for something different. The Man responds that he can give them what he desires in exchange for completing a terrifying task. However, the Man doesn't force them to do what he offers and says he doesn't give impossible tasks. "You leave me no choice," exclaims one of the heroes, to which the Man calmly replies, "On the contrary, I offer options." For some reason, each is unwilling to abandon their task. For some, the price of what they desire exceeds moral principles; others are unable to deviate from this path, even without realizing it; and still others say, "Sometimes we are not free to make our choices, but the very fact that we have the opportunity to do anything pushes us to make them."
People are dependent on their own personalities and desires. But when they are formally given freedom of action, the illusion of omnipotence overshadows internal inhibitions. A person doesn't offer a choice of action—they offer a choice. If a person desires something so much that they are willing to endure the most terrifying experience, then that is the path they have chosen.
"You're a monster!" one of the heroes cries in fear, but the Man merely remarks condescendingly, "Let's just say I feed monsters." Who is he? An embodiment of fate? A master of destinies? A devil to whom one sells one's soul?
Vitaly Egorov describes his character this way: "I really like the idea of not commenting too much on my character, so that the mystery, the aura of suspense, remains, and so that we can give the audience the opportunity to draw their own conclusions and determine who he is. I know he's a man who's lived through a lot—drama and tragedy, family, parents, his wife, and children. He has a very rich past. And this research, this observation, is an opportunity to correct these mistakes, to understand whether a person can make a choice and choose the right decision in a given situation. This research, this experiment, recorded in his diary, could become a very good film script."
Details of fate
The play features 11 characters—people of different professions and social statuses, but all united by a desire to change their lives. It's so intense and unbearable that they're willing to sign a pact. The "terrible" decision one character must make inevitably affects the life of the next customer. The audience sees how the first customer's decision echoes in the story of the next. This creates a sense of being caught in a web from which there's no escape. Everyone witnesses the choice and sees its consequences.
"Everyone can see themselves in these stories," says Alena Lapteva. "These are stories about parents and children, about relationships between men and women, personal stories shared by the characters. So, this is about us all. It's about how we are all connected. It's about how the fate of one person depends on the actions of another. And before we make a choice, how we act, we need to consider the possible consequences."
It happens that the hero achieves their desires before fulfilling the terms of the contract, because the most important thing is the person's belief in their goal. A desire is fulfilled not because the Person fulfills it, but because the client, having accepted the terms, has already internally crossed the line. They believe that the goal is achievable at this price. And this change in their consciousness, this new determination, however monstrous, in itself becomes the engine of change.
"You did this for yourself," the Man philosophically remarks when one of the characters reports on completing a task. The client arrives in a state of internal conflict. The task is merely the form their desire takes to break through. There was always a choice. And it was made in favor of some part of themselves, even the darkest. All the "scary" tasks are merely projections of their own inner monsters.
"There are many solutions to a single problem," the Man continues, "I offer only one." "Do you believe in God?" the client asks. "I believe in details," the Man replies. Truth, destiny, character, and choice are hidden not in global laws, but in the details. And the Man keeps his notebook as a collection of details: gestures, intonations, involuntary reactions. From them, he reads his interlocutor like an open book and offers that crucial detail-task that will change their entire life.
The grandiose feeling of having made a choice
The play "Choice" at the Oleg Tabakov Theatre is a profound exploration of a theme we all face on a regular basis. Every choice, even the most seemingly insignificant, can change our lives forever. It's crucial to be able to make the right decision and realize that it depends not on some mythical master of fate, but on ourselves. Someone can only guide us down the path we must follow ourselves, understanding that without our own desire and willpower, we would never have embarked on it. "I felt like I'd made a choice." "And how does that feel?" "It's fucking amazing!"
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