Shirvindt Aleksandr

It was this “ambiguity,” and sometimes even “porousness,” which can make an artist either capable of a complete depiction and impersonation, or seem diffused and cut-off from everything that doesn’t concern him. In our theatre, Aleksandr Shirvindt could have been such an actor, but his perennial fascination with “kapustniks” and sketch comedy turned the gentle ambiguity in his character into mocking bile. There just wasn’t enough of that very suffering of which I spoke previously.