Alexander Aleshkin: football played a major role in my life
Alexander Aleshkin graduated from the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts (formerly SPBGATI), course of Sergei Cherkassky in 2006. Worked in the theaters: “Modern”, New Drama Theatre, Commonwealth of Taganka Actors, since 2021 – actor of the Taganka Theater. He is the artistic director of the social teenage theater-studio “Vzlyot”. Alexander's filmography includes 42 film works. Married, has three sons.
Actor of the Taganka Theater Alexander Aleshkin visited the editorial office of the Metrostroyevets newspaper on Tsvetnoy Boulevard and spoke about his new project of the theater-studio “Vzlet”, as well as about film roles, favorite metro stations and his passion for football.
– Alexander, on June 1st you had a premiere. The theater-studio “Vzlet”, of which you are the artistic director, presented the play “The Little Prince”. Tell us about it.
– The history of this project began in 2018. Once I participated in a charity event - I made a short theatrical sketch on the theme of football with the participation of children from socially disadvantaged families. There I met the director of the State Budgetary Institution “My Family Center “Preobrazhenie”” Irina Ponomareva. As a result, after some time I began to work with the wards of this center - teenagers from 12 to 17 years old. I was joined by my wife, Irina. We had the idea to create the first urban social teen theater. We held a large-scale casting among children involved in social assistance centers for families and children. Out of 300 people, 25 were selected. Over the course of eight months, they studied acting, stage speech, vocals, and plastic arts. We rehearsed at the site of the Preobrazhenie family center, and a month before the release of the play, the artistic director of the Taganka Theater Irina Apeksimova provided us with a rehearsal room. She supported this project, because the participation of large city theaters in charity is good social PR. On Children's Day, the premiere of “The Little Prince” took place on the stage of the Taganka Theater on Fakelny. The performance was a complete sell-out.
– Why “The Little Prince”?
– In my opinion, this work does not lose its relevance today. The allegorical tale tells about friendship and devotion, love and betrayal. From the mouths of children, world-famous quotes sound completely new. The Commissioner for Children's Rights in Moscow, Olga Yaroslavskaya, who was present at the premiere, said that recently she had not seen anything more touching, real and sincere from children's performances. For me and my wife, the main director of the production and teacher, such an assessment is worth a lot.
– How did your mother, Tatyana Yuryevna, join the project?
– My mother is an artist by profession. In “The Little Prince” she painted the scenery, which, by the way, was all made of cardboard. This is her first experience of participating in a theater production. They joked about us that the entire Alyoshkin family was involved in this project.
– What are the plans for the teen theater?
– We are thinking about the next production – “An Ordinary Miracle” by Evgeny Schwartz. This choice is not without reason. At the theater university where my wife and I studied, the play “An Ordinary Miracle” was one of the best. We want to do a cover version of this performance. Of course, the production will be different, but the main message will remain - sincere, pure love. In addition, we were invited to perform the play “The Little Prince” at a children’s festival. Our dream is to turn the social theater-studio “Vzlet” into a full-fledged city theater with performances once a week, changing casts, possibly with a permanent venue, if the city helps us. This will allow children to feel like real artists, and for us to realize our main goal.
– Tell us about the play “Afghan”, where you play the role of Platonov. This is a unique production by Nikolai Gubenko for the tenth anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. The play has been on the playbill for 24 years. There are a lot of Afghans in Metrostroy, they will be interested in this.
– This performance is very dear to me, because the topic is important. On the other hand, it’s emotionally difficult, I prepare for it a week in advance, I’m afraid to fake it and not live up to the expectations of the audience. Nikolai Gubenko, a man of honor and the highest dignity, knew how to get us excited about this performance. There is a moment in the production when a photo sequence with real guys who died in Afghanistan starts up on the screen. One day the woman recognized her son, and then a piercing scream was heard. It's still in my ears. Every time I play in “Afghan”, I feel empty inside.
– According to Kinopoisk, you have over 35 films and TV series to your credit. And one of the best films with your participation is called “Lev Yashin. Goalkeeper of my dreams”, where you played Vladimir Savdunin. Do you agree?
– To be more precise, there are already 42 films. The film about Lev Yashin occupies an important place in my cinematography, and I am grateful to producer Oleg Kapanets for the invitation. A heartwarming movie about the great Soviet football player and his partners. But I don’t consider it my best work.
– Which film do you consider your best?
– The focus of my work is quite narrow – these are war films. One of the most successful works is the mini-series “Badaber Fortress” directed by Kirill Belevich. In the film I played the traitor Ivanov, who went over to the side of the Taliban and converted to Islam. In the finale, at the cost of his life, he helps the son of a Soviet army general escape from captivity. And thus he atones for his guilt. The second film is the military drama “Quiet Outpost” directed by Sergei Makhovikov. I have one of the main roles. The film is based on real events, it talks about real heroes, border guards, who repelled attacks by Afghan militants for 11 hours. I had a lot of fun filming; we shot from real machine guns and lived in barracks. For me, participating in this film is not only a great experience, but also a huge honor.
– The work of metro builders is hard, underground, using manual labor. What is the most difficult thing about being an actor?
“I think it’s the waiting.” When you work on camera or on stage, you are passionate about the process. And when you’re waiting for the lights to be changed, for the shooting of one scene to finish, then the second, all the excitement disappears. In general, acting work is sometimes very difficult both physically and emotionally.
– Since we are in the Mosmetrostroy building, I can’t help but ask what is your favorite metro station in Moscow?
– Belarusian radial. There is a sculpture “Soviet Belarus”, consisting of three figures. One of them is a woman with a child on her lap. So, my youngest son, surprisingly, is an exact copy of this child! I agree that the Moscow metro is the most beautiful in the world; these are underground palaces that you never tire of admiring.
– Alexander, you are the world champion in football among artists. And the football team of the Taganka Theater has repeatedly become the champion of the Theater Football League (TFL). How long have you been playing football?
– Football has been my hobby since childhood. In my youth, in one season, I scored 26 goals, 16 of them with my head, and all thanks to the fact that I had previously played volleyball and learned to jump well. Now I play in the Theater Football League for the Taganka Theater team, and our coach, Alexey Alexandrov, chairman of the Mosmetrostroy sports club, helped us win our fourth championship. No one else won in TFL. I also play for the star football club “Starko” together with ex-footballer of the Russian national team Dmitry Sychev, my fellow countryman from Omsk. Together with this team, I became the world champion in football among artists 2019. So football played one of the most important roles in my life.
– The Metrostroy football team is famous for its victories. Are you ready to play with the metro builders?
- With great pleasure.
Interviewed by Sergey Zhivaev