Papasian Directs Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ for 2021 Graduating Class of Yerevan State Theater and Film Institute

Lively performances were also offered by Harut Beg-Vanyan (Sir Andrew) and Evelina Stepanyan (Maria – also beautifully portrayed by Verjine Vardanyan on opening night), while Areg Tonoyan (Sebastian) managed the challenge of playing against type. Vova Msryan (the only invited actor to help complete the cast) successfully portrayed Antonio, a sea captain and a priest.

The music and traditional Shakespearian songs helped to create the atmosphere of the Elizabethan period and a medieval Mediterranean county, Illyria, where the plot is set.

Elements of ‘Brechtian’ theater were applied, such as direct address to the audience and the open space showing the mechanics of a production instead of hiding them behind illusionist aesthetics.

The directorial inventions, the clear stage diction and the expressive intonations brought to life Shakespeare’s style, rhythm, festive mood, aphorisms, and his use of clever puns. Even an uninformed audience would immediately recognize that this is the work of Hamlet’s author (by the way, these two plays were written in the same period).

An observant audience could also have noticed interesting local references, such as the Fool dressed in the style of the famous Armenian clown Leonid Yengibaryan, and the character of the priest “Armenianized.”

It is worth mentioning that the play has a rich history on the Armenian stage. Its most famous production dates back to the Second World War when in 1944, Vardan Ajemyan directed the play at the Leninakan Theater. It was presented at the Soviet Union Shakespeare Festival and had received high acclaim by contemporary theatrical experts and critics, becoming one of the great achievements of the Armenian theater. Later performances of the play on the Armenian stage include the Hagop Baronian Musical Comedy Theater’s production (directed by Yervand Ghazanchyan, 2008) and the Hrachya Ghaplanyan Drama Theater production (directed by Grigor Khachatryan, 2014).

Papasian  himelf has played many Shakespearean roles in his career, working along some of the world’s best directors. We are certain that audiences in Armenia remember well his brilliant interpretation of Bottom/Lysander in Irina Brook’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2009. The play was presented within the framework of the International Shakespeare Festival in Yerevan, for which Papasian was awarded the Vahan Tekeyan Prize as best actor. The performance of the graduating class under Papasian’s direction vouched for his generosity in sharing his lifetime of experience with these budding actors and actresses. Not only did he teach and coach them for months, but when he heard the news of his mother’s passing on in the US just two days before the opening night, he refused to leave for the funeral, despite his students’ insistence to do so. Papasian’s mother’s funeral took place in the US on the 5th of May, right as the opening night curtain was going up in Yerevan.

It is regretful that the play was performed only twice and remains inaccessible to the general public both in Yerevan and in the regions. In these difficult times we all need such productions.

We wish the future actors success in their professional lives and we thank Gerald Papasian for his dedication to the young generation of Armenia.

And above all, thanks to THE BARD whose mastery came to our rescue yet once again.