In commemoration of Pyotr Fomenko

He staged more than 60 plays and a number of feature films, created many works for the Russian television, and, which is the most important thing, he created a theatre of his own - “Masterskaya Petra Fomenko (Fomenko Studio). Fomenko’s productions had much in common with the “psychological theatre” of Stanislavsky. However, the Russian Maestro was also well aware of the post-modernist methods, he always added elegant plasticity to his productions, and knew very well the secrets of the visual theatre behind which one could always see his cunning grin. Fomenko was also known for his self-irony. Perhaps, that is why he avoided giving interviews. Besides, he did not like to answer seriously what he often called “silly questions”. Once at an art exhibition in response to the request of a Voice of Russia correspondent for an interview Fomenko said.

“It would be much better if you come to our theatre and see one of our productions, and you’ll find the answer to your question.

The audience regarded each of his new works as a “miracle” but the creation of such a “miracle” demanded great efforts, and it often happened that actors had to repeat one and the same phrase 200 times to get the approval of their stage director. Although Fomenko loved all his actors, he kept saying: “All this is good and murderous work, and one should work as an apprentice for some time”. Fomenko liked rehearsals more than the final result. He often said that success was a very good thing but always added that failure was far more useful. “Your soul should not get stale, and you should do your utmost to prevent the everyday routine from absorbing you. You should study all the time, and you should not be afraid to look back while you are moving forward”, Fomenko used to say.

The theatre of Pyotr Fomenko was a great success not only in Russia but also in the CIS and Baltic countries, the USA and Latin America, and also in China and Japan. Fomenko worked as a stage director in Tbilisi, Salzburg, Wroclaw, and Paris. Although those performances were different, the Russian theatre school with its traditions is strongly felt in all of them. And the main thing is that all of them evoke a warm response among theatre goers. “Pyotr Fomenko could stage a play based on the telephone-book”, the well-known actor Valentin Gaft says, adding that it is not because there are names, surnames and addresses there but because there are living people in it – sick, healthy, the ones who are in love, happy, distressed, and also self-murderers and the ones who were returned to life, and besides, children, adults and old people. He knew life!”