Sardaana
Sakha National Theatre
Honored as a "Cultural Hero of the Sakha People"
devised directed
Astonished by Many Ties
And now he begins the link between present day life and the story. That link was revealed very sharply, very simply, and surprised us like a sudden hit on the head might do.
What is this link? Grotesque, that’s for sure. Avant-garde, yes. A farce, clearly so. Comedy, very much. Satire, even more so. Horror, horrifying. Criticism, completely. Political, by all means. Startling in its naturalism. It is at this point, when the traditional story meets the present day, that the viewer’s perceptions begin to falter.
Did the story come to life? Of is out life just a story? Either may be so. We know this person, this director from the fairly tale world of America has not been here before. But how this person has opened our eyes.
The Sakha World
After two months of intensive preparation by the director Thomas Riccio and the actors of the Sakha National Theatre, the play opened to an appreciative audience. It raised laughter, caused surprise, and in the end left something in the soul of the viewer. This is not because it was avant-garde or grotesque or any other form of “ism.” The most surprising was the plethora of connections and ties.
Sakha Times
He asks them to search in themselves, their experiences and memories and asks them to tell him about them. The appropriate revelations are then used where necessary being worked into the structure of the play ...Judging by what we were shown it is not very difficult to make him an equal with a master.
The Echo
Yakutsk, Russia
Working on productions Thomas Riccio is three people in one—director, scenographer, and choreographer. But what us most interesting about Thomas’ work is his belief that actors will act better and live fully in their roles when they are emancipated of all present complexes. To this end he puts his actors into a state of trance. The visions and feelings experienced by the participants are then noted by the director to be used in the production—a very unusual preparation for their roles.
Times of Yakutia
