Published on: 2026-06-10
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
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In the theater“School of Dramatic Art”The premiere of the play is approaching“Fedra”about the tragedy of Zhan Racine. The director of the production was the honored artist of Russia Igor Yatsko, an artistic director of the theater directing and acting laboratory. Referring to one of the most famous ancient plots, the creator of the play explores the nature of passion, guilt, prohibition, and human responsibility.
For Igor Yatsko, work on each play begins long before the actors come on stage. Special practices play an important role in the rehearsal process, helping the ensemble achieve a unified rhythm and an indispensable internal state.
“For each play, I try to build a specific system for preparing the actors. This can be a training gathered from various practices: elements of qigong, movements, work with breathing and attention. The task is very simple and at the same time complex — to unite the actors in a short time into an energetic whole, to tune them to a common rhythm, theme, and style of a particular production. Because every play requires its own way of being,” the director explains.
Igor Yatsko emphasizes that for him theatre remains above all a space for research and a school—a principle laid down by the founder of the institution, Anatoly Vasilyev. According to the director, a performance does not arise as a finished product but as the result of prolonged creative exploration. A special place in it is occupied by the viewer: it is important that the audience not only observes but also becomes a participant in what is happening. In this, Igor Yatsko finds for himself the meaning of theatre—in uniting, in creating a space of shared experience.
The main role — Fedora — is played by the honored artist of Russia Maria Zaikova. According to her, the central theme of the production is passion — a feeling inevitably linked to prohibition and responsibility. She gives the example of an avalanche: as long as a person holds passion inside themselves, they are still able to resist. But the moment it breaks outwards, everything around is destroyed. Moreover, external participants get involved in the process. Maria Zaikova believes that the main idea of the play is that there are absolutely no innocent people in this story.Every hero is weak at some point, and everyone makes their own choice, as well as bears responsibility for it.
Perhaps that is exactly why Jean Racine’s play is so contemporary, and the characters and situations are sharply recognizable today. For Mariya Zaykova, the play “Phaedra” is above all a story about human nature, about how much people depend on love and the need to be loved. During rehearsals, the team thoroughly explored the myth and its various interpretations. What struck them most was the understanding that the world does not change. This is the essence of the myth: myths are dressed in epics and the scenery transforms, but human passions, fears, and desires remain the same.
The actor playing Theseus, Oleg Malakhov, admits that the key to understanding the play for him became the question that runs throughout the entire story: “Is it really sinful to love?” The actor believes that love is usually perceived as a creative and bright feeling. But in “Phaedrus,” the concept of forbidden love arises. And suddenly, what should bring light turns out to be connected with guilt, internal struggle, and suffering. It is not love itself that destroys, but the inability to cope with what the characters discover within themselves. Therefore, the main word of the play for Oleg Malakhov becomes precisely “forbidden.”Working on the image of Theseus, the actor sought to show not only the legendary hero and monster slayer but, above all, a human being.
Tesey returns home after his exploits, hoping to find love and peace, but he encounters lies—and it is precisely this monster that he is unable to cope with. For the actor, it was important to find not only strength but also weakness in his character. Tesey appears as a confused, vulnerable person, controlled by fear and other emotions. It is precisely this that makes the tragedy especially human.
Ivan Tovmasyan, playing the role of Hippolytus, also sees in the play a story of the inner struggle of a person with himself. For him, the central theme of the play is the prohibition and human weakness before temptation. In ancient tragedy, a person is constantly faced with a choice — to give in to passion or to resist it. Violation of the internal prohibition leads the characters to irreversible consequences. Therefore, for Ivan Tovmasyan, “Phaedra” is above all a story of a person’s struggle with himself. According to the actor, one of the main features of the play is its psychological authenticity.Zhan Rasin rejects antique interpretations of characters, making them much more human. Hippolytus here is not an ideal hero, but a living person with his contradictions and weaknesses. Working on the role, Ivan Tovmasyan tried to rely not on an external image, but on his own experience and feelings, so this work turned out to be very personal for him.
Igor Yatsko’s performance does not give the viewer ready-made answers, but rather the opportunity to go through, together with the characters, a complex experience of encountering love, debt, passion, and fate. A story that arose in ancient mythology and was reinterpreted by Jean Racine, once again reminds us that the oldest plots continue to speak to humans about their current pain, desires, and choices. After the performance, the viewer will carry with them a strong impression and deep experience, as well as the opportunity to reflect once again on love, feelings of guilt, and truth.
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