Klim's Actionless Play Descends Into Tedium

local critic not long ago praised Vladimir Klimenko, who goes by the professional name of Klim, as "Moscow's most boring director."


It was a point well taken on all scores.


Indeed, probably no one else today can match Klim's aesthetic submersions into silence, motionlessness and meaningless detail. And yes, for all the thought and theory that surely entails, it has a way of getting seriously boring.


Klim's latest opus is "Confession of a Son of the Age," a three-day marathon of plays by the French poet Alfred de Musset.


More to the point, it was his latest, since the last two segments of the trilogy closed after just three showings each.


Remaining in the venue's repertoire is "Candelabra," while "Love Is Not to be Trifled With" and "Venetian Night" will be performed only rarely for select audiences.


Actually, "Candelabra" differs only slightly from the others, sharing their ethereal, actionless form. It, too, is a cerebral play about the mind games that bind or separate the sexes. But with a more recognizable plot than the others, and staged with a bit more theatricality, it is somewhat more accessible.


Much of the credit for that goes to Larisa Lomakina, whose spectacular, evocative sets play with a model of a three-story house and its garden. They are first seen through shimmering, transparent curtains, and later are echoed in sparse, geometrical objects.


The two cancelled shows were the measure of Lomakina's achievement. The continuing evolution of the decorative elements in "Love Is Not to be Trifled With" was the key reason that production's aggressive tedium remained palatable. However, when Klim abandoned practically all decoration in "Venetian Night," the cavernous, bare stage required heroic efforts from director and cast alike, who were not up to the task.


Briefly, "Candelabra" concerns Jacqueline (Mariya Katayeva), whose lover, Clavroche (Yury Morozov), wants to outwit her suspicious husband, Andr?. Similarly, Andr? (Mikhail Rogov) hopes to drive a wedge between the lovers.


Enter the inexperienced Fortunio (Andrei Astrakhantsev), whom Clavroche foists on Jacqueline as a decoy, and whom Andr? sets on his wife to fill her time. Naturally, they fall in love, creating not a love quadrangle, but a love candelabra.


The performance begins with extended, "incidental" action. A flashlight shines out of the miniature house into the darkness. A man in a tux sweeps the garden grounds while another strolls by. A third knocks and is let into the house, where we see silhouettes of a love tryst in progress.


The piano music and mysterious movements in the shadows create an intriguing atmosphere. But it is short-lived. Neither Lomakina's set nor the tasteful use of music is enough to give meaning to the protracted scenes of expressionless characters rambling on in toneless voices.


The actors seldom do more than sit, stand or walk. Their rare attempts to create visual images with statue-like poses seem irrelevant and even unintentionally comic. An occasional temper tantrum from Jacqueline, and a few deadpan, humorous songs from Fortunio provide some relief from the aimless drifting in and out. But most of what we see is secondary. Klim is really only interested in the dense text.


"Candelabra" is clearly intended to appeal to the intellect, or even the subconscious. For all its pretentiousness, it is an interesting idea. As a performance, it is very long.





"Candelabra" (Podsvechnik) plays July 12 at 7 P.M. at the Ostrovsky Oblastnoi Theater, 121 Volgogradsky Prospekt. Tel. 175-3339. Running time: 3 hours, 35 mins.