Serebrennikov has staged a rather gloomy comedy with the dazzling Yevgeny Mironov in the lead. ... Figaro's soliloquy about self-realization and finding one's place in today's society is one of the show's strongest scenes. ... Mironov smiles as he takes his bows but radiates an aura of sadness. That means he's proven himself equal to the role. Even in this cumbersome, chaotic production, where the concept often defies execution.

The classic is saved by the protagonist. There is less cardboard comicality, more life and more subtlety to Figaro than to the other characters, painted with too broad a brushstroke. Figaro looks fairly glum against this merry background. ... Mironov's Figaro laughs, but his eyes are anxious and sad. Reminiscing on his erratic life, this Figaro recites the famous monologue, with its particularly poignant "who am I?", in a state of total detachment from the surrounding "reality".

Mironov's performance is nuanced and sophisticated, but not very amusing. The situations in which the hero finds himself are funny, but the hero is not having fun. This is normal for Mironov. It's normal for Russia. ... A Russian Figaro cannot be a schemer. What he is is dead tired.

I'm sure you want to know if Mironov did a good job. He did. His Figaro is slim, agile, humorous, grown-up and tired, with an Everyman's open face and an inner gentility that shines through in his eyes and in his words. Too smart to be a servant. Too wise to side with the masters, the moguls, the businessmen, the politicians, the New Russians. But even Mironov is defeated by the hodgepodge of ideas and images that clogs the production. It's as if he was held back from fulfilling all that he could and should have. And we know he knows HOW – does he ever... Just give him the WHAT!

Offsetting the inept, grating, jarringly unnatural dialogue (made up – or rather, messed up – by Serebrennikov) was the splendid acting. Mironov has absolutely succeeded in pulling together a talented cast that, hand in hand, made a boring opus seem as if it was played in a single breath – a performance full of drive and humor (albeit not always of the subtlest kind), which can only be called inspired. ... The actor has fulfilled and topped every hope of his audience.


[Translated by Vlada Chernomordik for the Yevgeny Mironov Official Website]