The Little Prince? The Little Mirza!

Who is Ruslan Rimanas

Writer, journalist and pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry published «The Little Prince» in New York, where he went after the occupation of France. It was in 1943. His book is one of the most published in the world. But to understand the performance, it is not necessary to read it. The age rating is listed as 0+, but it seems that it is best to watch it at least shortly before school.

On stage there is a screen in the form of a famous hat, that is, a boa constrictor that has swallowed an elephant (set designer — Bulat Ibragimov). «The Little Mirza» is described as a staged version of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's tale. In fact, Rezeda Gubayeva created, in fact, an independent work. It was staged by Ruslan Rimanas, who works at the MOÑ theatre venue. Perhaps you have seen his street performances. He studied at a choreographic and theatre school, at the Django Edwards Institute of New Clownery and the Academy of Fools of Slava Polunin, acted in the latter's «Snow Show», performed at carnivals and travelled a lot.

A few words

The performance begins with the entrance of the usher (Lilia Makhmutova), who first explains the rules of behaviour in the theatre (some of the audience immediately disregard them) and then sits in the hall, taking Mirza's place. This is the role of Zarina Safina. She has been acting in the theatre since last year. This is her third major role, after the melodrama «Bakhet Khak» («The Price of Happiness») and the tragedy «Tahir and Zuhra» («Tahir — Zuhra»).

Since the seat in the hall is taken, Mirza goes on stage and starts talking about his family. Mom and dad work, the older sister takes endless photos, the younger brother is sassy, the grandfather is deaf, the grandmother... And it seems that a kind of children's and teenage story about broken family ties is beginning. Mirza is interrupted by the actors themselves, and the action turns into a wordless lyrical clowning with a lot of physical comedy. Here it is worth noting that Maxim Sarantsev is responsible for important sound effects, and Darya Andreeva is responsible for the lighting; both are well known for their work at MOÑ.

I remember that the Tinchurin Theatre has already staged a performance with circus elements — it was «The Magical Arena» («Tylsymly Arena»). But moving towards buffoonery was undoubtedly a great success. Perhaps that is why, when the hero regains his speech and says that all family problems have been resolved, he is no longer so clearly heard, because the audience thinks that the story is over and the actors are taking their bows. Well, the actors, who already knew a lot about the laws of physical comedy at the Tinchurin (although Rimanas's trainings were clearly useful to them), would do well to remember that it is useful to limit themselves in time, even if the audience is ready to watch and laugh for a few more minutes.

Clowns from other planets

But in general, this is a funny and kind performance. The thing is that it turns out that the grandfather (Ilgizar Khasanov) used to be a pilot, and that's how he met his Yoldyz, his star wife (Zuleikha Khakimzyanova). The tone of the second part is set by a young clown-pilot (Zulfat Zakirov), a highly plastic actor. He turns the bed into an airplane, and he and Mirza, now the Little Prince, go on a journey through the planets. By the way, Zakirov is Safina's master at the theatre school.

Each resident is an alter ego of the characters from the first part. That is, the usher is already a king with a huge гофрированный collar demanding increased attention.

The older sister (Elvina Karimova) is a beauty-obsessed girl, whose natural appearance is restored by the airplane tandem.

The roles of Rustam Gaizullin are especially notable. In real life, he is a lonely neighbour, marked in the programme as a «drunkard» (like in Saint-Exupéry), but in fact he drinks tea from five samovars, pretending that he has a friend. He finds such a friend right in the audience — and in the finale, by the way, he is reunited with a woman, to the joy of the audience.

The role of the younger brother (Ilmas Nasretdinov) is not very clear. The appearance with a predominance of red seems to suggest to us that this is the Fox. But on stage, on the contrary, not new relationships flare up, but old grievances of relatives. Later, of course, the brother and sister make up. In general, this is not a story about how «only the heart is keen». And no one hunts chickens. And no one dies, by the way.

Finally, the mother (Guzel Galiullina) turns, as indicated at the beginning, into a businesswoman who finds an old family photo in a garbage bin and is reunited with the lantern-keeper father (Salavat Khabibullin).

The love interest of Mirza, hidden most cunningly, is a girl named Rosalina (Adelya Khasanova). In the fairy-tale part of the performance, she turns into a huge wayward Rose, whom the Prince covers with a scarf. It is known that Exupéry's wife Consuelo, who came from El Salvador, was just as sharp and explosive, but children should not read their biography. Renat Shamsutdinov, Ramil Minkhanov and Albina Gashigullina help Khasanova to control the Rose puppet (apparently, alternately). When the stage circle turns in the finale, we see them, and Shamsutdinov elegantly hands a real rose to Albina.

Despite the fact that the performance is prepared for New Year's performances (it is preceded by the appearance of Ded Moroz and a quest), it seems that a long life is prepared for it in the small hall of the theatre: it does not have many lines, but a lot of international fun and lyricism.