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The success of the Theater Clwyd's powerful production of "Old Times" as the second entry in the Maly Theater's First International Festival of National Theaters is still ringing in the air. No one doubted that Harold Pinter's play would impress so, but few expected such an intricate interpretation by director Lindy Davies or such a brilliant burst of acting. The publicity singled out the divine Julie Christie for entirely understandable reasons: to put folks in seats. She did not disappoint. As the silent, baffling wife, Christie was an elaborate hieroglyph in motion, a splendid, walking enigma. But how about Leigh Lawson as her husband, and Harriet Walter as her old friend? Walter, who performed in the famous 1984 London production of "Crime and Punishment" by Yury Lyubimov which cost him his Soviet citizenship, was the picture of hot-and-cold elegance. Lawson, whose film credits include co-starring roles with Shirley MacLaine ("Madame Sousatzka"), Nastassia Kinski ("Tess"), and Jessica Lange ("O, Pioneers!), was perfect as the rumbling, but increasingly confused man who watches the linchpins of his life come out. The fourth Moscow show may have been the last the company will do. There is talk of a revival in New York, but many obstacles remain.


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The next big tour comes with the arrival of St. Petersburg's renowned Maly Drama Theater. They will occupy the old stage at the Taganka Theater from Oct. 21 to Nov. 12, bringing five shows. It will be the troupe's first Moscow appearance in nine years, during which time it has become the most famous Russian theater in the world. Attempting to select a highlight in advance is perhaps folly, although the all-day shows of Dostoevsky's "The Devils" on Nov. 4, 5 and 12, and performances of "Gaudeamus" on Oct. 28 and 29 are sure to pack them in. That story of a Soviet Army construction battalion has been called a tour-de-force of kaleidoscopic images from Europe to the United States.


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