Johnny Melville's Blog

Johnny après Moscow

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:08:51 +0000

The moscow experience was amazing - queues and queues of slick new 4×4s, huge anonymous thundering trucks and rickety vans jostling each other down highways at reckless speeds or at bumper to bumper statics, colorful beautiful buildings old and new, stunning frescoes in renovated monasteries, leafy hiillsides at Sparrow Hill, the joy of Russian faces at the show, cleanliness everywhere public, stinky toilets in private, pancakes with caviar, the best hot chocolate I ever drank, empty casinos shut down by Mr. Putin, packs of wild dogs roaming the streets and slumped in parks… backstage the farewells between clowns not sad and weepy like the cliche image of behind the mask, but warm and genuine hugs between all the participants of the Congress ( well more or less all )!!! Then flying to rainy Barcelona with russian football fans hopeful to beat the famous Barca - AND THEY DID ! - so we were all happy that night.

Johnny in Moscow

admin — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:10:03 +0000

Well tonight we finally had the premiere - everyone was happy with the show - and me too thank clown- the show was hot, tight and pretty amazing. Then later in the cabaret a lot of reunions with Slava clan and some real hot music from a sexy russo girl singer in flamenco arrangements of old soviet hit songs… Great night but now beat and ready for the sleep I need

Johnny in Moscow

admin — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:39:29 +0000

Arrived at the theatre to hear that Slava and Viktor (the director) had cut my plunger sketch. Later I found out that the reason was that Russian people are tired of “political” comedy. I said the plunger is not political is it? Ok I do portray some political symbols but isnt everything political ? and isnt this a world congress of fools? : we have so many styles yet “political” is thrown out..? I defend it as a poetic piece and those references I make are fun and connected to the instrument. Comedy will always offend someone but the forbidding of it will offend the free-minded surely……? At least 15 of the cast and crew have expressed their disappointment that it has been cut but it seems the decision is irreversible. Well whatever - I shall try to do a new version of the opening tomorrow too too see if it works better. Looking forward to getting into the Moscow subway - sounds a real experience !!! and seeing the city after we do 2 shows also on sunday…..Paul Morocco arrives tomorrow - havent seen him for some time.

Johnny in Moscow

admin — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:52:07 +0000

Whirling crazy colourful exuberant madness as the finale of the performance dedicating the Fools congress in Moscow explodes into sense-arround foolgasm. The most amazing ending to a theatre show I have yet seen rivaling some of the great Olympic stagings…A complete mixture of styles of comic fool parading through the night, the sweetness of French delicate mime, the brazen unsubtlety of russian modern clown, the suppressed and unsuppressed aggression of the english clown, the poetic mask theatre of the Caucasus and the loud overwhelming frantics of American slapstick. Meanwhile a Russian public content sit at times sweetly amused, other times caught in belly aching laughter. The day was long for all those working in the theatre but in the end all seemed content enough with the result. The run continues today with two shows and will get better and better of course…. long live lunatic love!

Johnny in Moscow

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:46:26 +0000

I have been 24 hours in the Hotel Korston or on the way to the huge opera/ballet theatre for youth where we perform for 10 days from friday the 9 October…. The building looms out of the park near the cowboy like statue of Yuri Gagarin like a decorated UFO. The theatre inside is a flurry of activity - ballet girls toe the floor to live pianists, the cafe rich in Russian bravado, middle aged lady cleaners seem to be everywhere while the main theatre space - an enormous 14 metre high x 30 m across and 30 m deep proscenium - is filled with Marx brother-like frenetic activity as fools from Slava’s choice for this year’s event parade themselves in weird shapes, colours and activities that only the fools world can enter into. The mood is warm and relaxed in complete organizational chaos but no one seems to care as we plod on with our tech rehearsal into the night. The mood still good when I left. Poor Peter Pododrowsky still waiting on jet lagged auto pilot for his turn. Tomorrow is the premier…..

Johnny in Moscow

admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:26:03 +0000

We flew into a sunny and coolish Moscow around three o clock and immediately did a three point turn on the runway a couple of minutes before the next jet in the queue came down on our recent imprint. Then a the longest drive through any city I have ever experienced as we slumped into jam after jam, police cars and trucks on the highways just stopping at will. Chaotic organisation or organised chaos? At least now I have finally met Slava.