Dramaturdzy z Jekaterynburga : "szkoła" Nikołaja Kolady

Abstract

The purpose of this book is to discuss the so far known literary output of the most famous apprentices of Nikołaj Kolada, one of the most popular Russian playwriters of the recent decades, and, on the basis of the above-mentioned, decide whether the name “school” in relation to the galaxy of young playwriters is adequate. The analysis covers plays by Oleg Bogajew, Tatiana Filatowa, Wailija Sigariewa, Nadieżda Kołtyszewa, Natalia Malaszenko, Olga Bieriesniewa and Anna Bogaczewa. Each of the subsequent chapters is devoted to one particular playwriter. The plays were looked at from the perspective of their connections to Kolada’s works, as well as from the point of view of the specificity of dramatic technique of particular authors. In drama plays by Bogajew, the issues connected with the human being and its problems are presented by means of playing objects, which brings about treating a contemporary human being like an object, its heartlessness and emotional lifelessness. Bogajew uses the method of the theatre in the theatre in a variety of ways, rests on showing absurd situations, makes use of grotesque, irony, humour, and elaborate play with words. Filatowa makes use of unlimited language capacity in her attempts to reach the mysteries of the human soul. She shows man’s fascination with evil and forbidden fruit, using a specific word order, understatements, and unfinished thoughts. In her plays, the reader feels the suspense due to dialogues and detailed conversation which can be called an intentional avoidance of revealing the truth and mystery of the protagonists. Sigariew writes plays-short stories in which, by means of a black and white division of characters, he presents a destructive influence on man in today’s reality. His characters are forced to live in the world of violence, evil, aggression, receiving no support from anywhere. Kołtyszewa bases her works on a collision resulting from a meeting of people who used to be close to one another, and realized that it was a strong bond, which will not let them fall apart any more, that always united them despite former disagreements. Her plays constitute a description of different attitudes to interpersonal relationships, and a metaphor of “connected vessels”. Bieriesniewa and Bogaczowa write about people who cannot start a new life, and build their present life on memories. Both writers show how the real life and the worldof theatre penetrate each other in an original way. So do they reveal the truth about their characters. Malaszenko creates dramas out of unique landscapes which reflect the human’s perceptions of other better world, of paradise in which one can find comfort having left the terrestial life. Her faerie plays are amazing because of a play of colours, and uniqueness of descriptions of secret places in the universe. What all playwriters deriving from “the school of Nikołaj” have in common in their plays are their interest in the human being of our times, sincerity in revealing the truth about him/her, sympathy because of his/her solitude in today’s indifferent world, a humanistic approach to them created by means of a well-developed author’s text, an unusual atmosphere helping to show a difficult situation of man relying only on him/herself, counting on nothing in his/her life, and waiting for death. The dramaturgy of “the school” consists in language specificity, play with words, making use of strange and sophisticated words in order to thoroughly describe the spirit of the human being nowadays. It is also created by means of theatricality, a wide range of life - theatre interrelationships, high professionalism, and an original use of the best traditions of literary and dramatic classics.