Two capitals: Khabensky explained the new Moscow Art Theater pricing policy

To unite the Moscow Art Theater and the Moscow Art Theater, but not to repeat the history of the painful split, to make the theater not a service sector, but an educational institution, to provide young artists with office housing and financially support excellent students. At the first face-to-face meeting with journalists, Konstantin Khabensky spoke not only about pressing issues, but also about how he sees the future of the theater economy entrusted to him. However, the artistic director of the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater and the rector of the Moscow Art Theater Studio School are still cautious about radical changes. In education, he believes, the main thing is not to harm, and in theater, to preserve what has already been created. The details of the conversation that took place on November 3 are in the Izvestia article.

Two theaters — one story?

The most unexpected news was Konstantin Khabensky's statement about the possible unification of the once-divided Moscow Art Theater. The artistic director does not rule out that in the future the "male" and "female" art theaters may become one again. They split up in 1987. Now, almost four decades later, the talk of unification is being heard out loud again.

— Naturally, the idea is that this confusion must end sometime: the Moscow Art Theater-1, the Moscow Art Theater-2, which Moscow Art Theater is the first, which is the second, and so on. This will probably happen over time," Khabensky told reporters.

At the same time, the artistic director immediately made a reservation: such decisions are not in his competence.

— I can only suggest that we take the first steps to make the theaters one. But it doesn't have to be the same painful reconciliation situation as the once painful divorce situation. It should take place in a more civilized manner," he is sure.

In the meantime, the Moscow Art Theater has enough of its own scenes. There are three of them, and this is enough for a full-fledged life of the theater. Another thing is that at the end of the season, the New one will go for major repairs — the building has not been renovated since the late 1980s.

Another topic that almost no conversation about major Moscow theaters can do without today is ticket prices. Khabensky did not deny that prices at the Moscow Art Theater had increased significantly. According to him, the gross collection during his leadership increased from 650 million to 2 billion rubles, salaries for employees increased by 60%, and the cost of tickets for individual performances increased 2.5-3 times.

However, as the artistic director explained, we are not talking about the entire repertoire, but only about three or four works that are in high demand. Among them are the acclaimed "Hamlet" starring Yura Borisov and "The Cabal of Saints" starring Nikolai Tsiskaridze and Konstantin Khabensky himself. Tickets for the last one are sold out for all available dates. And Izvestia has written about the hype around Hamlet more than once.

High demand attracts resellers and creators of mirror sites selling places at an inflated price. Increasing the official cost of the most sought-after productions, according to Khabensky, should help the theater benefit from audience interest itself, rather than feed intermediaries.

"In order not to give our money to people who have done nothing to create this performance, we simply have to raise ticket prices to a certain level," he explained.

At the same time, the average price policy of the theater, as specified by the artistic director, is about 5-6 thousand rubles. And you can find seats on the balcony for 650 rubles. Khabensky recalled that the productions have been in the repertoire for more than one season, so viewers should be patient and look for tickets for other dates.

The new Hamlet and the new status of the theater

There was also a conversation about Yura Borisov, who will play his last performance on November 5. From November 25, the role of the Prince of Denmark will be transferred to the young actor Oliver Mar, who has joined the troupe since this season.

— I am very grateful to Yura Borisov for joining this work. Thanks to him for his support and for his attitude towards the profession. But life dictates its own trajectory. You have to make a choice to go on your way. Yura made his choice, there are no complaints," said the artistic director.

At the same time, Khabensky is sure that the performance will not lose its main meaning, although it will inevitably become a little different with a new performer.

The second part of the conversation concerned the Moscow Art Theater Studio School, where Khabensky has been acting as rector since March, combining this work with the leadership of the theater. He does not intend to change the educational program, at least until he understands the structure of the educational process and understands what changes are really necessary.

He admitted that he is still looking at the work of the school and is trying to understand how his own ideas about theater education can be combined with the already established system. He doesn't want to interfere with the program for the sake of the very fact of change. But he will try to make it work more efficiently.

One of the first practical steps was to support students who show excellent academic results. Khabensky spoke about his intention to increase scholarships for excellent students and develop the school's endowment fund. The Fund has already raised 36 million rubles. The next goal is to bring his capital to 100 million. These funds should become a long-term source of student support, including through scholarship programs. The rector himself is not going to teach an acting course yet, but he is actively looking through the workshops of his colleagues.

Back during the St. Petersburg Forum of United Cultures, Vladimir Mashkov proposed to change the status of the theater itself - to consider it as an educational institution rather than a service institution. Konstantin Khabensky supports this idea, although he suggests that the tasks of a theater university and a theater should not be confused. In his opinion, it is in educational institutions that professional schools and a culture of behavior are established. Theater is, first of all, a space of emotions, a place where a person can experience things that often do not have the time and energy in everyday life.