Slava Pulunin

Slava Polunin: A Monologue of the Clown
Vyacheslav Polunin
A Monologue of the Clown, or A Pie of Ten Layers.
Interview and text: Natalia Kazmina
Translation: Julie Delvaux
   

    Context
Having left for London from Leningrad, he was out of the Russian cultural context for nearly ten years. Once back, he smashed our straight rows and, delivering chaos to the sober landscape of thetheatrical Olympus, he opened our eyes on ourselves. After his tender “sNow Show”, after his street theatre performances during the Theatrical Olympics it became clear – we had a lack of him. We had a lack of this man-clown and a festival-man. We laughed and were not afraid to see, how constrained and set apart, false and envious, mean and timid we were. We realized, how difficult it could be to open yourheart to a spectator, or a reader, or a friend, or even to the one you love. Some have a fear that people will not understand them, others are afraid they will be mocked, and some just have nothing to say. Yet he fears nothing. He walks into the crowd and cuts it through, like a breakwater. And what is important, he does not dissolve in the crowd. “I have made an attempt to bring to Moscoweverything that had driven me mad earlier”, - he said at the press conference. – “I wanted to shift your appreciation of the theatre to a different path. I wanted to broaden your horizon”. You bet he did! We saw that the clownery, these fantastic mimes, rope- and stilt-walkers, people in masks, the buffoons and street musicians are all a completely forgotten part of our culture. It is a lost joy thatPolunin wants to revive. He feels dull when enjoying alone.
       

    Clown
Clown is the most spontaneous creature on Earth. When you start restraining his freedom, he loses himself and whimpers like a child. Basically, it means that you offended him deeply. Clowns are very special, and they need a special treat. Like the lunatics or, I don’t know, like the drunk or the dogs.
It’s not simplythat you see the one like yourself. You sense him, through the means of perception, through certain external moves, the manner of life… All of this is for him only, but absolutely useless for the rest of people. At a glance you notice how unusual he is. Like, when you offer him a seat, he answers: “I will lie down here”. His answer is inadequate, but that is not because he wants to show off,rather it is his normal condition, the only one in which he feels happy. I always use my son as an example. I tell him: “Vanya, bring me a teapot”. Vanya lies on the floor, rolls to the kitchen and comes back with the pot on his head. This is his normal enjoyment of the game. To live as usual would be dull and uninteresting, he feels emptiness of this life. All his being fights against everydayoccurrence, routine, and he seeks the festival and the game.
Freedom is everything to the clown. The only thing I cannot stand is when my freedom is restrained. I cannot imagine the situation when I have no freedom of choice. Generally, I might never need it. But, signing a contract, I do never agree not to be free, and I always ask to cross this clause out. I am annoyed with the very fact that somebodydictates me something. This is the reason, by the way, why the majority of clowns take to drink, being unable to regulate their free zone in the society. The clown cannot stand against the violence, just like a child. You swaddle him, yet he is screaming, bastard. He wants to run to THAT bench, he wants to push his head into THAT tube, for the life of you. The child and the clown are quite alike.The nature of talent is important for the clown, too, but not as much as freedom. When I was creating my troupe for the Licedei (Pagliazzi) theatre, my criterion for the actors was “an electricity-man”. I found some five like this. But there were others – gracious, languid, and tender. Like Robert Gorodetsky, for instance. He has no energy, no aggression. Instead there is depth, subtlety in...