Slava Polunin discusses his inspirations and more ahead of Snow Show performances at Bristol's Hippodrome
Posted on: 16 Nov 2017Slava Polunin's multi-award winning internationally acclaimed piece of theatre, Slava’s Snow Show, is coming to the Bristol Hippodrome from the 28th of November until the 2nd of December. We sat down with Slava to discuss his inspirations, thoughts about his performances and what to expect from the show.
.JPG "Slava's Snow Show comes to Bristol's Hippodrome in November.")
Your story begins in Soviet Russia, in the heart of a strict and crushing regime from which you engaged on a long journey following your dreams. Tell us more about this journey.
"Speaking of the art we were practicing, it was never an officially acknowledged one, it was a silent kind of art, and thus a very elusive one, hard to control (so generally, we weren’t strongly encouraged to carry on). But we had, nevertheless, lush conditions for our work. The state provided us with free teachers, facilities for rehearsing and everything we needed to focus on our art."
When and how did you decide to start sharing your poetic universe with the public?
"We fell in love with the art of pantomime through Marcel Marceau and Charlie Chaplin, and for a good decade we fully dedicated our days and nights to that, no holding back. Eventually it happened, so that more people started to like what we liked. We made it on television, then everywhere else, and found ourselves famous - people were waiting for us everywhere."
If you were not an artist performer, what other professions do you think you would have chosen to be in?
"When I was a child I dreamt about being a librarian or a woodsman. And those dreams also came true – I have a huge library and I live in the woods."
What do you get or enjoy from making people laugh?
"I love happy people. I am so lucky that every night I can see a thousand joyful faces!"
What inspires you now? What other companies/ productions/forms of entertainment do you enjoy?
"Many things: nature, children, books, I am a true book lover: I have an enormous library that I have been collecting and savouring all my life. As for theatre, I love bright visuals, and perhaps for that reason my favourites these last years are Pina Bausch and Robert Wilson."
On Slava's Snow Show...
"This show was actually conceived in the early 90's. It embraced all my favourite topics and items. In a sense, I was working on this show for many years, collecting bit by bit until it became a whole, in order to express myself in fully. Many things in the show come from childhood memories, like the image of snow, for example."
What can audiences expect from your show?
"I think that in the first place one should expect a journey into the childhood. Into your own childhood sparkling with your dreams, into mine - covered by the snowy blanket, into ours – filled with anticipations and dreams. A trip into the world of bright colours, true feelings and important small details, that one only notices when little. In any case, each person sees his (or her) own story in the show, his own world. This is very important to me."
You can watch Slava's Snow Show from 28th November-2nd December 2017 at the Bristol Hippodrome. Tickets are on sale now and can be found here.
Article by:
Hannah recently graduated with a degree in English with Writing. She is an avid writer, freelancer and creative. She is currently writing her first full-length novel and a collection of poetry. Always out and about in Bristol's music scene, she attends music events on a weekly basis.
