<1984>   - where there is no place for darkness

ArmInfo. In just one month, the world premiere of Konstantin Kamensky's musical "1984," based on George Orwell's novel of the same name, will take place in Yerevan.

"Meet me where there is no darkness"—that's how the actors of the musical described the upcoming premiere, which will take place on October 17 at the G. Sundukyan National Academic Theater, during the first rehearsal in Yerevan.

An ArmInfo correspondent was fortunate to attend the first run-through of the play, which centers not on Orwell's totalitarian world, but on the love story of Winston (Alexander Krasovitsky) and Julia (Teona Dolnikova), who are trying to maintain their right to be themselves in this world. But the main character is still the music, written especially for the performance by Alexander Krasovitsky, leader of the bands Animal ДжаZ and Zero People. It carries a powerful stream of light and becomes part of the dramaturgy where words have lost their power, where the truth is rewritten every day. And the lyrics to the music are by the contemporary Russian poet Vera Polozkova.

As the composer shared in an interview with journalists, the first Zoom meeting took place in early May, and just 10 days later, Vera Polozkova wrote 14 poems for the musical's songs. He also noted that the poet's poetry was based on the written music.

He also admitted that he was apprehensive about accepting the role, as he has no acting experience. "If a door opens for you and they treat you kindly, and you don't go in, then you're a fool. I thought to myself, I've been a fool many times in my life, but I don't want to make the same mistake this time." I walked through that door with fear, and I still feel it before and during every rehearsal. But this is one of those times when you have to overcome your fear, because the result can be a very beautiful story," Krasovitsky said.

If Orwell's novel is based on the concepts of "war is peace, ignorance is strength, and freedom is slavery," then director

Konstantin Kamensky took a slightly different motif as the basis for his musical. Answering a question from an ArmInfo correspondent, he emphasized that in his work, freedom is love and hope. "It's love."

Vladimir Daraganov, who will play Parsons, holds a slightly different opinion. The actor noted that this play is more about the more terrible things that are always somewhere close.

,   " he said.

Speaking about his character, Daraganov noted that his priority wasn't so much justifying him as understanding him, his motivations, and creating his own perspective.

Teona Dolnikova, reflecting on this topic, noted that it's most important to love your character.

"I think if you don't love the character, there's no point in acting," the actress said.

Alexander Krasovitsky admitted that, despite his lack of acting skills, he didn't find portraying Winston particularly challenging, since he would essentially be playing himself.

"That is to say, I've had my share of betrayal in my life, and I still have plenty, as well as feelings of guilt for all sorts of rather questionable things I've done." "Therefore, as they say, I didn't have to really get into character, because I'm just playing myself," the composer noted.

Actor Evgeny Pronin, who will play the role of the TV Presenter (Big Brother) in the musical, said that his role as an actor is simplified by the fact that his character is the embodiment of evil.

"You just have to paint this evil in as many colors as possible. You have to love evil too, find something to love," he noted.

During rehearsals in Yerevan, the actors admitted that they continue to discover each other, finding something new in themselves and their partners every day. Overall, they concluded that there are no clear good or bad characters in this production, as each character has both good and evil, just like every person, and the musical's themes will always be relevant. The actors confidently stated that this kind of performance is unheard of anywhere else, so attendance is mandatory.

It's worth noting that the producer of the musical "1984" is Sergey Tselikov. His projects in Yerevan include a DDT concert and the performances "Suitcase," "My Grandson Veniamin," "Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead," and "Heart of a Dog." and others.

The performance also features Nina Kobiashvili (set designer), Ilya Delyatitsky (media artist and video designer), Vladislav Frolov (lighting designer), Mikhail Sokolik (sound engineer), Maxim Vasiliev (technical director), Boris Barabanov (music producer), Yulia Chumakova (props master), Mikhail Komarichev (tour manager), and Alexander Nekrasov (arranger).

Tickets can be purchased at the following link: https://1984show.com/#tour