The Theater of Nations hosted one of the most anticipated premieres of this season - Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy. Drinking princess and smoking prince

The play " Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy" was written by the classic of the Polish avant-garde Witold Gobrovich in 1938, when the horror of fascism was already hanging over Europe and only a year before the start of the Second World War. Although the text does not contain direct hints about what is happening in the world, the play gives as much room for interpretation as desired. Until the 50s of the twentieth century, Gombrowicz’s work was prohibited, but in 1958 the Polish public, and then the whole world, saw the first production of “ Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy".

The play, dressed up as a fairy tale, tells about the life of the royal family in a certain kingdom, a certain state, where the royal army lives, and Crown Prince Philip, on a walk, meets a homely, sickly girl, Princess Yvonne, who behaves strangely, speaks to almost no one, and to the surprise of many, he calls her his betrothed. After Yvonne appears in the royal house, the life of the family is turned upside down: each character sees his own wretchedness, old complexes play with new colors, skeletons come out of the closets. The sickly girl is accused of all the sins and vices to which all the heroes of Gombrowicz's play are subject. Soon Yvonne tires of the prince and the entire royal court figures out how to get rid of the annoying princess. The chamberlain proposes the most sophisticated method of murder - at a dinner party, feed Yvonne crucian carp, and even more so, if all the guests are looking at her, she will definitely choke and die.

At the end of January 2011, the premiere of the play “Princess Yvonne” directed by Vladimir Mirzoev took place on the stage of the Vakhtangov Theater.

I would like to make a reservation right away: Mirzoev did not even think of telling us through Gombrowicz’s play about the horrors of the fascist regime. But still, notes of totalitarianism slip through a couple of marches by the master of theater music Faustes Lathenas, and one can discern in the costumes and set design of Alla Kozhevnikova - an ascetic space converging in a rigid perspective of two walls in the first act, and in the second, cut off by a rough wall, with a movable podium in the middle scenes; Prince Philip, two meters blond with Aryan bangs, in a gray coat, riding breeches and boots.

The performance begins with a Chinese exercise, which is repeated by all the characters admiring the sunset through a wall of tiled glass. Next, the entire royal court passes loaves of black bread to each other, to help a beggar (Oleg Lopukhov), throwing them somewhere outside the palace. At this point Mirzoev’s vague metaphors end; otherwise the director is quite straightforward.

Then the performance falls apart - the scenography is separate, the actors are separate, and the music is off topic. Efim Shifrin, in the role of King Ignatius, tries in every possible way to get rid of his real king - the stage, but he does not quite succeed. Queen Margarita - Marina Esipenko in the first act appears to us as a strict lady, and already in the second she implausibly portrays a crazy housewife who does not like her own poems.

At first glance, it may seem that the play is about one old truth - white crow in any case, the black ones will peck. But Mirzoev would not be Mirzoev if everything were like this. This production is more about power, which at times (although it already seems that this is its main task) drives away. And then amazing events begin to happen: the abolition of several time zones and the transition to winter time so as not to traumatize the psyche of milkmaids, cows and other animals; vague education reform and abolition of academies, and then professions; the opening of new opera and ballet theaters in the regions (read the most expensive theater projects), but at the same time most of the actors can barely make ends meet, and local theaters are in a deplorable state, such that the audience sits on rotten chairs; new shameful judicial miracle cases against Khodorkovsky; betrayal of the intelligentsia with just anyone, without fully understanding who, either with the Nazis, or with football fans, forgetting the names of old acquaintances, the Shevchuks invited “to tea” and so on, on, on. In general, the behavior of the authorities towards society is the same as that of Gombrowicz’s heroes in relation to Princess Yvonne. The bottom line is that the royal family still can’t figure out what this little scoundrel is and, like an unnecessary element of their life, is poisoning. But Mirzoev noticed correctly in his production - the government cannot live without society, no matter what it is, which is why in the finale Prince Philip dies immediately after Yvonne.

The director himself says in an interview with a RIA Novosti correspondent - “Princess Yvonne” is a philosophical fairy tale, a parable that today reveals its meaning and coincides with the problems and feelings of the modern world.” But on stage this hint looks far-fetched today. Perhaps Mirzoev’s mistake was that he saw a connection in the styles of Witold Gombrowicz and Evgeniy Schwartz and was too carried away by this idea. As a result, fairy-tale characters appeared on the stage, and each actor began to play as he understood his hero. In my opinion, it should be like this - the royal family is on the “same wavelength”, and Yvonne is on her own, otherwise it turns out to be a stylistic mistake between the director’s thought and the performance.

In spirit, this performance is reminiscent of the recent premiere at the Moscow Youth Theater - “Notes of a Madman” by Kama Ginkas based on the text of the same name by Gogol. In a yellow house built by Sergei Barkhin, lives a man - Poprishchin, perfectly played by Alexey Devotchenko. In the house, strange sounds are heard from nowhere, and hallucinations in the form of two silent ballerinas look in on Poprishchin. At first it seems that Ginkas conceived this performance in the sense that every self-respecting director should stage “Notes of a Madman.” But as the action progresses, it becomes clear that this is not so. Poprishchin, in his quiet madness, in one mise-en-scène pastes on the wall portraits of well-known newsmakers here and now: Pugachev, Galkin, Medvedev and a portrait of Ginkas himself, but this seems to be for a joke. This is where it becomes clear that Poprishchin just wants to be among the regulars of gossip columns and news feeds. It is they who inflame his consciousness. Looking at himself from the outside, he suddenly decides to become the Spanish king and puts on a robe made from newspapers. Ginkas hints that it is worth reading newspaper headlines and news reports - there are also notes from crazy people. Or rather about crazy people.

The play “Notes of a Madman” is about the “big crazy world” that destroys a person. As proof of this, the last mise-en-scene - Poprishchin climbs into a niche carved into the wall of a yellow house, similar to a coffin, and the final point is a video cut from gossip columns and the faces of some politicians across the entire height and width of the stage.

Witold Gombrowicz

Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy

Leonard Bukhov, translation from Polish

V. Gombrowicz (1904 - 1969) is a classic of the Polish avant-garde, who had a great influence on Polish and European literature and drama of the 20th century. The play was written in 1938, but its first production in Poland took place only in the early 50s. Since then, “Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy” has not left the stage for more than half a century. Translated into sixteen languages, the play occupies a strong place in the repertoires of theaters around the world. One of the recent productions was performed by Ingmar Bergman at the Stockholm Drama Theater.

Publication of the translation: "Modern Drama", 1996/1. (C)(C)(C)

Characters:

KING IGNATIUS

QUEEN MARGARET

PRINCE PHILIP - heir to the throne

CHAMBERLAIN

ISA - court lady

KIRILL - friend of the prince

YVONNE'S AUNTS

INNOCENTY - courtier

VALENTIN - footman

DIGITANTS, COURTIERS, PEGOR, etc.

Place of celebrations: trees, benches in the depths, festively dressed audience. At the sound of the fanfare enter: KING IGNATIUS, QUEEN MARGARET, PRINCE PHILIP, CHAMBER, CYRILL, CYPRIAN, ladies and gentlemen of the court.

QUEEN. What a wonderful sunset.

CHAMBERLAIN. Truly wonderful, Your Majesty.

QUEEN. Looking at such beauty, a person becomes better.

CHAMBERLAIN. Better, without a doubt.

KING. And in the evening we'll play cards.

CHAMBERLAIN. Only Your Majesty can combine your innate sense of beauty with your inherent penchant for playing bridge.

A BEGGAR approaches.

What do you want, good man?

BEGGAR. Please provide financial support.

KING. Chamberlain, give him five pennies. Let the people see that we remember their needs!

QUEEN. Give me ten. (Turning towards the sunset.) At the sight of such a sunset!

LADIES. Ah-ah-ah!

KING. What is it - give me fifteen! Let him know his sovereign!

GENTLEMEN. Ah-ah-ah!

BEGGAR. May the Lord Most High bless the Most Serene King and may the Most Serene King bless the Lord Most High. (He leaves, singing a song.)

KING. Well, let's go, we shouldn't be late for dinner, we still need to walk around the entire park, communicate fraternally with the people on the day of the national holiday.

Everyone heads towards the exit except the PRINCE.

And you, Philip, are you staying?

PRINCE (picks up a newspaper lying on the ground). I'll be a minute.

KING. Ha ha ha! It's clear! Ha ha ha! He has a date! Just like me at his age! Well, let's go, ha ha ha!

QUEEN (reproachfully). Ignatius!

Fanfare signal, everyone leaves except PRINCE, KIRILL and CYPRIAN.

KIRILL and CYPRIAN. End of tediousness!

PRINCE. Wait a minute, here is the horoscope for today. (Reads.) From twelve to two... No, that’s not it... Here! - The period from seven to nine in the evening will bring you a powerful rush vitality, strengthening individual qualities will give impetus to wonderful, albeit risky ideas. This is a watch that promotes bold plans, great deeds...

CYPRIAN. What do we need this for?

PRINCE. ...favorable for success in love affairs.

KIRILL. Then it's a different matter. Look, there are some girls spinning around there!

CYPRIAN. Forward! Don't hesitate. Let's do our duty.

PRINCE. What? What other debt? What do you mean?

CYPRIAN. Our duty is to function! Function! Nothing else but to function with blissful joy! We are Young! We are men! We are young men! Thus let us fulfill our function as young men! Let's set more work to the priests so that they too can function! Ordinary division of labor.

KIRILL. Look, a very elegant and seductive lady is walking. And the legs are okay.

PRINCE. No - how can that be? Same thing again? And so on ad infinitum? Again and again? Again and again?

CYPRIAN. Don't you agree?! What can she think about us?! Of course, again and again! Always!

PRINCE. Don't want.

KIRILL. Do not want? What? What?! You refuse!

CYPRIAN. (surprised). Don’t you, prince, experience sweet, carefree pleasure when sweet lips whisper: “yes,” as if once again confirming their constant readiness?

PRINCE. Of course, of course, naturally... (Reads.) "contributing to bold plans, great deeds, strengthening individual qualities and heightening emotions. These hours are not safe for overly proud natures, which are characterized by an excessively heightened sense of self-esteem. The affairs that you will begin during these watches can be beneficial, but perhaps also harmful..." Well, it’s always like that.

ISA enters.

We greet you!

CYPRIAN. With the greatest pleasure!

KIRILL. With admiration!

ISA. Good afternoon What are you, prince, doing here in solitude?

PRINCE. I am doing my duty. My father inspires his subjects with his appearance, and I, with my appearance, immerse their daughters in their dreams. Why aren't you in the queen's retinue?

ISA. I'm late. I'm catching up. I was out for a walk.

PRINCE. Ah, you're catching up. Whom?

ISA. How absent-minded you are, prince. Why is there such melancholy in your voice? Don't you enjoy life? And that's all I'm doing.

PRINCE. Me too, and just because...

PRINCE. Hmm... (Looks at them carefully.)

ALL. So what?

PRINCE. Nothing.

ISA. Nothing. Are you well, prince?

KIRILL. Cold?

CYPRIAN. Migraine?

PRINCE. No, on the contrary, something just washed over me! Something came flooding in! Believe me, I am literally overwhelmed with emotions!

CYPRIAN (looks around). Ooh, nothing blondie. Quite... quite...

PRINCE. Blonde? If you said brunette, it wouldn't change anything. (Looks around with a depressed look.) Trees and trees... Let at least something happen.

KIRILL. Oh, and there's another one coming.

CYPRIAN. With your aunts!

KIRILL. With your aunts!

YVONNE and her two AUNTS enter.

ISA. What's happened?

CYPRIAN. Look, prince, look, you’ll die laughing!

KIRILL. Quiet, quiet, let's listen to what they are talking about.

1st AUNT. Let's sit on the bench. Do you see, my child, those young people?

YVONNE (silent).

1st AUNT. Yes, smile, smile, my child.

YVONNE (silent).

2nd AUNT. Why so sluggish? Why are you, my child, smiling so weakly?

YVONNE (silent).

2nd AUNT. Yesterday you were unlucky again. And today you are not successful. And tomorrow no one will pay attention to you either. Why are you so unattractive, dear? Why is she not sexy at all? Nobody wants to look at you. God's true punishment!

1st AUNT. We spent all our savings, to the last penny, to order this dress with flowers for you. You can't have a complaint against us.

CYPRIAN. What an ugly thing!

ISA (offended). Why immediately - ugly.

KIRILL. Wet chicken! And he still turns up his nose!

CYPRIAN. Crybaby! Everything is wrong with her! Let's go show her our contempt! Let's hit you on the nose!

KIRILL. Yes Yes! It would be nice to teach this inflated roar a lesson! Our sacred duty! You go first, and I will follow you.

They walk right in front of Yvonne with sarcastic expressions, and then burst into laughter.

CYPRIAN. Ha ha ha! Right under your nose! Right under your nose!

ISA. Leave her - it makes no sense!

1st AUNT (to Yvonne). You see what we are subjected to because of you.

2nd AUNT. Because of her, everyone just laughs at us! God's punishment! I thought that even in my old age, when the end of my feminine disappointments came, I would not be afraid that I would seem funny. And now I’m old, but because of you I continue to endure bullying.

CYPRIAN. Do you hear? Now they are reprimanding her. Ha ha ha, that serves her right! Give it a good try!

2nd AUNT. They're laughing at us again. But we can’t leave, then they’ll laugh after us... But if we stay, they’ll laugh in our faces!

1st AUNT (to Yvonne). Why, at yesterday’s ball, you, dear child, didn’t even move your foot?

2nd AUNT. Why won't anyone be interested in you? Is this pleasant for us? We put all our feminine ambition into you, and you... Why don't you ski?

1st AUNT. Why don't you take up pole vaulting? Other young ladies are jumping.

CYPRIAN. How clumsy she is! Just the sight of her irritates me! Damn annoying! This clumsy thing just drives me crazy! Now I’ll come over and turn the bench over! How, huh?

KIRILL. No, it's not worth it. Why so much effort? It’s enough to show her your finger or wave your hand, or something else like that. Any gesture towards such a creature would be a mockery. (Sneezes.)

2nd AUNT. Here you see? They're already sneezing on us!

ISA. Leave her alone.

CYPRIAN. No, no, let's do some trick on her. I came up with an idea: I’ll pretend to be lame, and she’ll think that even a lame dog doesn’t come to her for tea. (Intends to approach the bench.)

PRINCE. Wait! I came up with something better!

CYPRIAN. Wow! I'm giving way!

KIRILL. What did you come up with? Looks like you're about to do something unimaginable!

PRINCE (laughs, covering his mouth with a handkerchief). A trick - ha-ha-ha, a trick! (Approaches the bench.) Allow me to introduce myself. I am His Highness Prince Philip, the King's son.

AUNTS. Ah-ah-ah!

PRINCE. I see, dear ladies, you have some problems with this sweet young lady. Why is she so apathetic?

1st AUNT. Just a disaster! She has some kind of organic ailment. Blood circulation is sluggish.

2nd AUNT. And this causes puffiness in winter and mustiness in summer. In the fall she has a constant runny nose, but in the spring she has headaches.

PRINCE. Excuse me, you are literally at a loss as to what time of year to prefer. And no medications help?

1st AUNT. Doctors say: if she were livelier, more cheerful, blood circulation would increase and all ailments would stop.

PRINCE. Then why can't her mood improve?

1st AUNT. Due to sluggish circulation.

PRINCE. So, if she becomes more alive, the blood circulation will increase, and if the blood circulation increases, then she will become more alive. Funny situation. Some kind of vicious circle. Hmm... of course, yes... and you know...

2nd AUNT. You, prince, of course, are being ironic. Well, we can’t prohibit it.

PRINCE. Am I being ironic? No, I have no time for irony. The moment is too serious now. Don’t you feel some strengthening of your individual qualities, a surge of vitality - don’t you experience ecstasy?

1st AUNT. We don't experience anything, just a little cool.

PRINCE. Strange! (To Yvonne.) And you - don’t you really feel anything either?

YVONNE (silent).

2nd AUNT. Where is she, what can she feel?

PRINCE. You know, when I look at you, I’m tempted to do something to you. For example, take you on a leash and drive you forward, or deliver milk to you, or prick you with a pin, or mimic you. Your appearance irritates me, you are like a red rag, you provoke. Yes! There are people who seem to be created in order to unbalance others, irritate them, and drive them to madness. Such people exist, and each of them affects only specific person. Oh! How you sit, how you move those fingers of yours, how you swing your legs! Unheard of! Just wonderful! Amazing! How do you do it?

YVONNE (silent).

PRINCE. Oh, how silent you are! How silent you are! And what an offended look! And you look simply wonderful - you look like an insulted queen! All filled with anger and resentment - oh, how much dignity and pretension you have! No, I'm going crazy. Everyone has their own creature that brings them into a state of delirium tremens, and you are such a creature created for me! And you will be mine! Kirill, Cyprian!

KIRILL and CYPRIAN approach.

Let me introduce you to this insulted queen, this proud Anemia! Look how she moved her lips... She would like to answer us with a barb, but right now nothing comes to mind.

ISA (suitable). What nonsense! Leave her! It's all starting to get tasteless.

PRINCE (sharply). And you find that up to this point the taste has always been respected!

CYPRIAN. Allow me to introduce myself - Count Unworthy!

KIRILL. Ha-ha-ha, Baron Anemic! The sharpness, of course, is not the best... but to the point.

ISA. Enough, stop it - leave the poor thing alone.

PRINCE. Poor thing? Well, well, take it easy! Take it easy - I can marry her.

CYPRIAN and KIRILL. Ha ha ha!

PRINCE. I said: take it easy - I can marry her!

CYPRIAN and KIRILL. Ha ha ha!

PRINCE. Stop it! I'll marry her! Yes, she annoys me to such an extent that I will marry her! (To the Aunties.) You agree, don’t you?

KIRILL. The joke goes too far. You can give rise to blackmail.

PRINCE. Joke? But tell me, isn't she herself a colossal joke? Are jokes only allowed on one side? And if I am a prince, isn't she a proud, insulted queen? Look at her! Listen! Mademoiselle, mademoiselle! Mademoiselle, allow me to ask for your hand.

1st AUNT. What?

2nd AUNT. What? (He comes to his senses.) Prince, you are a noble young man!

1st AUNT. You, Prince, are a true philanthropist!

CYPRIAN. Unheard of!

KIRILL. This is madness! I conjure you with the memory of your ancestors!

CYPRIAN. And I conjure you with the memory of your descendants!

PRINCE. Enough, gentlemen! (Takes Yvonne by the hand.)

ISA. Stop it - the king is coming!

CYPRIAN. King!

KIRILL. King!

Fanfare signal; includes the KING, QUEEN, CHAMBER, courtiers.

AUNTS. Let's leave quickly, a storm is about to break out here!

THE AUNTS run away.

KING. A! Philip! Well, I see you're having fun! What did I say! Blood is not water!

QUEEN. Ignatius!

KING. Blood is not water, I tell you! All in me! (To the side.) But something, it seems to me, this nymph is a little... that... And what kind of stuffed animal is this, my son?

PRINCE. Let me introduce, Your Serene Highness, my bride.

KING. What?

ISA. He is joking!

KING. Ha ha ha! Joke! Joke! I see, my son, that my penchant for jokes has been passed on to you. And really, what else do I have left in my life? And, strangely, I myself can’t understand why, but the stupider and more primitive the joke, the greater the joy it gives me. I immediately become younger.

CHAMBERLAIN. I completely agree, Your Majesty, with Your Majesty's subtle remark. Nothing rejuvenates you like a truly ridiculous joke.

QUEEN (with displeasure). Philip...

PRINCE. This is not a joke at all.

QUEEN. How so? Not a joke? What is it, then?

PRINCE. My engagement!

KING. What?

The amazed courtiers run away.

QUEEN (indignantly). First of all, I ask everyone to be tactful. (To Yvonne.) Look, my child, what is there beautiful tree. (To the Prince.) Philip, in what position are you putting her? What position are you putting us in? What position are you putting yourself in? (To the King.) Ignatius, just calm down!

PRINCE. Your Majesties, in your eyes I see indignation at my action: how could I, a royal son, even for a moment put my person next to such a creature.

KING. Well said!

PRINCE. But if I did get engaged to her, I did it not out of poverty, but out of excess - and therefore I think that I have the right to take such a step, I don’t see anything humiliating for myself here.

KING. From excess?

PRINCE. Yes! I'm rich enough to marry extreme poverty. And why should I only like a beauty? Why can't you like someone who's plain? Where is that written? Where is there a law that I must obey like a soulless mechanism? Am I not a free man?

KING. Wait, Philip, are you seriously presenting us with your paradoxes? Don’t pretend to be independent, it’s just that everything is mixed up in your head, my son. Why complicate simple things? If the young lady is beautiful, you like her, and if you like her, then go ahead... but if she’s ugly, then good-bye, and put your feet up. Why complicate things? This is the law of nature, which I myself, speaking between you and me (Looks back at the Queen), gladly obey.

PRINCE. But to me this law seems idiotically stupid, wildly rude, ridiculously unfair!

CHAMBERLAIN. He is stupid, of course, stupid, but, so to speak, it is precisely the stupidest laws of nature that are most pleasant.

KING. Really, Philip, are you disgusted with your studies at the boiler design department and your ideological work in the civil-social field?

QUEEN. Are you tired of your youthful games and amusements? Are you fed up with tennis? Are you tired of playing bridge and polo? But you could also play football and dominoes.

CHAMBERLAIN. Or are you, prince, no longer attracted by, how can I put it more elegantly, the current ease of love and erotic relationships? Just unbelieveble. It would never stop tempting me.

PRINCE. To hell with erotic relationships, to hell with everything - I'll get married and that's the end!

KING. What? What? Is he getting married? And you dare say that? He's mocking us, you impudent little sucker! Yes! He's mocking! I will curse him!

QUEEN. Ignacy, you can't do this!

KING. No, I'll curse you! I give you my word, I will curse you! I'll put him in shackles! Ha! I'll throw the scoundrel out the door!

QUEEN. Ignacy, calm down, otherwise there will be a scandal! A terrible scandal! Ignatius, because he does this out of the kindness of his heart!

KING. Out of the kindness of your heart, wound your old father right in the heart?

QUEEN. He's doing it out of mercy! Out of mercy! He was touched by the plight of this poor thing - he had always been unusually sensitive! Ignaty, please, there could be a scandal!

KING (with disbelief). Touched by a hard fate?

CHAMBERLAIN. Your Majesty, now Her Majesty is right, the prince does this out of innate nobility. He does a noble deed. (Aside.) Your Majesty, if you do not agree that this is a noble act, it will turn out to be a scandal, like twice two. He won't back down. You can't let things get to the point of scandal!

KING. Oh well! (To the Prince.) Philip, after reflection, we recognize the nobility of your decision, although it is somewhat hasty.

PRINCE. What does nobility have to do with it!

QUEEN (hurriedly). Nobility, nobility, Philip - do not interrupt, we know better - and in recognition of the nobility of your intentions, we deign to allow you to introduce us to your bride, whose difficult fate awakened in us the highest feelings, all our generosity. We will receive her in the castle as an equal to the highest born ladies, which, of course, will not diminish our dignity, but, on the contrary, will elevate us!

PRINCE (goes to the back of the stage). Kirill, give it here - the king agreed!

QUEEN (to the side, towards the King). Ignatius, just calm down.

KING. OK OK.

The Prince approaches, leading Yvonne by the hand.

Yes, this is... well, well!

The courtiers, peeking out from behind the trees, approach; fanfare signal.

PRINCE. Most Serene Sovereign! I present to you my bride!

YVONNE (does not react).

CHAMBERLAIN. Bow, bow...

PRINCE (whispers). Bow!

Following the Queen, the King bows slightly.

YVONNE (does not react).

PRINCE (slightly confused, to Yvonne). This is the king, my father, his majesty, and this is my mother, her majesty... Bow, bow!

YVONNE (does not react).

QUEEN (hurriedly). Philip, we are so touched... What a sweet creature. (Kisses her.) My child, we will become father and mother for you, we were so pleased with our son’s Christian act, we respect his choice. Philip, you should always strive for the sublime and never for the base!

CHAMBER (gives a sign to the courtiers). Ah-ah-ah!

COURTIERS. Ah-ah-ah!

KING (confused). Yes, yes... Well, in general... Of course...

QUEEN (hurriedly). Now see your bride off and have her chambers prepared for her. (Generously.) And so that she has everything in abundance!

CHAMBER (signaling to the courtiers). Ah-ah-ah!

COURTIERS. Ah-ah-ah!

PRINCE, YVONNE, KIRILL, COURTIERS leave.

KING. Wow... Hold me! Have you seen? Have you seen anything like this? After all, it turns out that it is not she who bows to us, but we to her; it is not she who bows to us, but we who bow to her! (Astonished.) What an ugly thing!

QUEEN. Yes, ugly, but a wonderful deed!

CHAMBERLAIN. If the bride is ugly, then the act, of course, must be beautiful. Your Majesty, in a few days the prince will get over this, but there’s no need to force it, and I’ll look at him today and try to find out what his true intentions are. This is an ordinary extravagance, but just don’t irritate him and cause resistance on his part. We should remain calm now.

QUEEN. And tact.

The Prince's chambers, through one door the PRINCE, KIRILL, YVONNE enter, through the other - the footman VALENTIN with a rag in his hand.

PRINCE (to Valentine). Valentin, please don’t get in the way.

VALENTIN leaves.

Plant her here. I'm always afraid that she will run away. Maybe tie it to the table leg?

KIRILL. She's already half alive. He won't run away. Philip...

PRINCE. What?

KIRILL (with disapproval). Why do you need all this?

PRINCE. For what? For what? I have to defeat this monster, overcome this obstacle - you know? There are hunters who go out one-on-one against buffalos on a dark night... There are those who grab the bull by the horns... Kirill...

KIRILL. I can't come to an agreement with you today.

PRINCE. But, most likely, I am possessed by a certain burning curiosity similar to the one with which we examine a worm when we touch it with a stick.

KIRILL. Let me tell you what I think.

PRINCE. I beg you.

KIRILL. Let's leave her alone, because half an hour will pass and we won't know what to do with her... And this is unpleasant, even very unpleasant, not to mention other things - all this is too unceremonious towards her.

PRINCE. It seemed to me that at first you yourself did not stand on ceremony with her.

KIRILL. I agree, I agree! But it’s one thing to have a light joke in the fresh air, and quite another to drag her here to the castle. Philip, leave this idea.

PRINCE. Yes, look how she sits. Unheard of! No, just think, what injustice! Is it really true that if a girl is who she is, no one should like her? What self-confidence! What wildness in the laws of nature! (Looks carefully at Yvonne.) Here! You know? Only now, looking at her, I begin to feel like a prince to the core. And before - in best case scenario I felt like a baron in myself, and even then one of the noble ones.

KIRILL. Strange. But it seems to me that you treated her more like a baron than like a true prince.

PRINCE. Strange indeed, and yet I must admit that I have never felt so confident, so excellent, even brilliant. Tra-la-la... (Takes a pen with a feather and balances it, placing the end on his finger.) Look, it never worked before, but now it works. Apparently, in order to feel superior, you need to find someone who is significantly worse than you. Being a prince nominally means nothing, but now I understand what it means to be a real prince. Lightness... (Dances.) Joy... Well, now let's take a look at the subject of our madness. Mademoiselle, would you please tell us something?

YVONNE (silent).

PRINCE. You know, she’s not so ugly, but there’s some component of misfortune in her.

KIRILL. This is precisely the main problem.

PRINCE. Tell me why are you like this?

YVONNE. (silent)

PRINCE. Silent. Well, why are you like this?

KIRILL. Doesn't answer, offended.

PRINCE. Offended.

KIRILL. But it seems to me that she is not offended, but rather a little scared.

PRINCE. I was a little scared.

YVONNE (quietly, with effort). I'm not offended at all. Please leave me alone.

PRINCE. A! Are you not offended at all? Then why don't you answer?

YVONNE (silent).

PRINCE. Well?

YVONNE (silent).

PRINCE. Can't answer? Why?

YVONNE (silent).

KIRILL. Ha ha ha! Can not! I'm offended!

PRINCE. Please, explain to us what is the mechanism of your failures. You're not that stupid at all. Then why do people treat you like you can't even count to three? Why such stubbornness on their part?

KIRILL. She's not stupid, she just found herself in a stupid position.

PRINCE. OK then! Sorry, Kirill, but this is what surprises me! Look, even her nose is proportional. And one cannot say that it is limited. And in general, she looks no worse than many girls we know. Why is no one making fun of them? Why, tell me? Why exactly did you become a goat, or rather, a scapegoat? Why did this happen?

YVONNE (quietly). And so on endlessly. So in circles.

KIRILL. Round?

PRINCE. How is it - in a circle? Don't interfere. Round?

YVONNE. So in a circle it’s always everyone, everyone is always... It’s always like this.

PRINCE. Round? Round? Why - in a circle? Some kind of mysticism. Ahhhh, I'm starting to understand. Here, in fact, there is some semblance of a circle. For example: why is she so sleepy? Because I'm not in the mood. Why aren't you in the mood? Because I'm sleepy. Do you understand what kind of circle this is? Hell's circle!

KIRILL. It's your own fault, you bungler! Heads up!

YVONNE (silent).

PRINCE. Ha! She doesn't take you seriously!

KIRILL. At least a little bolder! A little bolder! And a better mood! More life! Take my advice - now you look offended. And you smile, and everything will be fine.

PRINCE. Yes, smile at us. Do not be shy!

YVONNE (silent).

PRINCE. He doesn't want to. And she does the right thing - if she smiles, it will come out insincere. And this will irritate, anger, irritate, excite, provoke even more. She is right. This is simply amazing, Kirill! Fabulous! This is the first time I've seen something like this. What if we were the first to smile?

KIRILL. It won’t help either, because the smile will turn out forced, out of compassion.

PRINCE. There is some kind of diabolical combination here. Some kind of specific, hellish dialectic. Look, you can’t say that she didn’t understand the situation in all its depth. You can see it in her, even though she is as silent as a grave. You know, all this resembles a certain system, like a perpetuum mobile - as if a dog and a cat were tied to a stick: the dog chases the cat and scares it, and the cat chases the dog and also scares it, and all this together rushes madly endlessly; and all around - complete numbness.

KIRILL. The system is closed and hermetically sealed.

PRINCE. Fine! What happened at the beginning? What was born first? After all, it couldn’t have been like this from the very beginning. Why are you scared? Because they are timid. Why are you timid? Because they are a little scared. But what was the first thing that first began in you, once upon a time?

YVONNE (silent).

PRINCE. Wait, wait. Well, okay, but don’t you have any merits at all? Is it really nothing at all? You cannot consist of only shortcomings. There must be at least something positive in you that gives you support, a feeling of your own rightness - something that you believe in, that you like about yourself. You will see - we will fan this flame, awaken you to life.

YVONNE (silent).

PRINCE. Wait! Stop! This is very important - let’s say someone comes up to you and says that you are such and such - the most nasty and terrible things that kill, destroy, deprive a person of speech and life. And you answer: “Yes, I am like that, it’s true, but...” What - but?

YVONNE (silent).

KIRILL. Well? What - but? Speak boldly.

PRINCE. Well, for example: "...I have a good heart. I am kind." You understand just one advantage. This one plus!

KIRILL (sharply). Yes, speak up! Answer!

PRINCE. Maybe you write poetry, huh? Some mournful songs, elegies... oh, even if they are completely mediocre, I swear to you, I will recite them with inspiration. Give me at least a point of support, just a point of support! So you write poetry, right?

YVONNE (silent).

KIRILL. She despises poetry.

PRINCE. Do you believe in God? Are you praying? Are you on your knees praying? Do you believe that our Lord Christ died on the cross for you?

YVONNE (disdainfully). Certainly.

PRINCE. Oh, miracle! Finally! Thank you, God Almighty! But why does she talk about this... in a tone... in a tone... of disdain? About God - with disdain! About the fact that he believes in God - with such contempt?

KIRILL. This is beyond my understanding.

PRINCE. I know, Kirill, what’s the matter. She believes in God because of her shortcomings and understands this. If she didn’t have shortcomings, she wouldn’t believe it. She believes in God, but at the same time knows that God is just a lotion for her psychophysical wounds. (To Yvonne.) Isn't that so?

YVONNE (silent).

PRINCE. Brrr... But there is, however, some terrible wisdom in this, an insensitive wisdom...

KIRILL. Treatment needed! Medicines! Pills and an appropriate course of treatment would help against this very wisdom. Healthy image life - morning walk - sports - rolls with butter.

PRINCE. But, sorry, you forget that her body does not accept drugs. He doesn’t perceive it because he’s too lethargic. We have already established this. Cannot take anti-lethargy medications due to being too lethargic. You forget about the vicious circle. Morning walks and sports would undoubtedly help her get rid of her weakness, but she cannot go for walks because she is too weak. Dear gentlemen, that is, no, not gentlemen, Kirill, have you ever heard of anything like this? She evokes sympathy in me, yes, although this kind of sympathy... is its property...

KIRILL. This is surely a punishment for sins. You must have sinned greatly as a child. Philip, in the depths of all this there is undoubtedly some kind of sin, there could not be any sin here. Of course, you have sinned greatly.

YVONNE (silent).

PRINCE. Ha! I know where the dog is buried! Listen - if you are so weakened, then you feel the suffering less - weakness entails weakening, do you hear? The circle closes in your favor, one thing is balanced by the other. All the spells, all the temptations of this world should affect you less strongly, as a result you suffer less.

YVONNE (silent).

PRINCE. Well, how?

YVONNE (silent, looking at the Prince from under her brows).

KIRILL (notices her look). Why is she looking like that?

PRINCE. How?

KIRILL. It seems to be ordinary! But still...

PRINCE (concerned). What's wrong with her?..

KIRILL. Philip! She's looking at you!..

PRINCE. What - on me?

KIRILL. That's the thing... After all, it... devours you with its gaze... Passionately! Ardent, damn it! She's getting to you... well, in her own way... She's getting to you! To you! Beware - this lethargy of hers is passionate, lustful like a thousand devils!

PRINCE. Yes, she... She's just shameless! What shamelessness! Sophisticated shamelessness! And you dare to pester me, you otter! Let's burn it? Take a poker and heat it white - then it will jump around! Then he will dance!

KIRILL. But, Philip!

PRINCE. There is something impossible about her! Something unbearable! Your entire being offends me! It offends me to the very depths of my soul! I don’t want to know anything more about your misfortunes - you, a pessimist, you - you, a realist...

KIRILL. Philip!

PRINCE. Look how she sits.

KIRILL. Let him stand then.

PRINCE. And she will stand the same way! Look how pleadingly she looks... how she asks... She asks for something all the time... something, something... she wants something from me. Kirill, this creature must be destroyed. Give me a knife and I'll cut her throat with a light heart.

KIRILL. Dear God!

PRINCE. No, I'm kidding! However, she is afraid - look, she was really afraid. I was terribly scared - how vile. Don't be afraid, I was just joking... It's a joke! Don't take it seriously if I'm joking...

KIRILL. You start to play around.

PRINCE. What? Yes, indeed. It's funny. Do you really think I'm being silly? Very possible. But she is to blame for this - not me! She brought me down, not I her!

Ring: VALENTIN enters.

KIRILL. Who's that there? (Looks out the window.) It seems the guests... Chamberlain, ladies.

VALENTINE. Open?

PRINCE. They came for reconnaissance. Let's go get ourselves in order.

PRINCE, KIRILL and YVONNE come out. VALENTIN opens the door. Enter: CHAMBER, two gentlemen, four ladies, INNOCENT.

1st LADY. Nobody here. (Looks around.)

2nd LADY. Oh, this is hilarious! (Giggles.)

1st MR. What if he's serious?

CHAMBERLAIN. Calm, calm, dear ladies!.. I beg you, just be serious.

The ladies giggle.

Please, no giggling.

The ladies giggle.

We just came in after a walk, as if nothing had happened, we want to understand where things are going.

1st LADY. Are you seriously? Ha ha ha! This is an idea! Look - her hat! Hat! Simply hilarious!

2nd LADY. You might burst out laughing!

CHAMBERLAIN. More restrained! More restrained! Pull yourself together!

GUESTS. Hee hee hee - oh, I can’t! - Hee-hee-hee! - Stop it, or I'll die. Stop it. - It's hilarious! You might burst out laughing! (They laugh quietly, egging each other on; the laughter either intensifies or subsides, only Innokenty does not laugh.)

Enter: PRINCE, KIRILL, YVONNE.

Prince! (Everyone bows.)

CHAMBERLAIN. We were just walking nearby and couldn’t resist (Rubs hands.) - the whole company!

PRINCE. Yvonne, dear! I am glad that I can introduce you, gentlemen, to my bride.

GUESTS. Ah-ah-ah! (Bow.) We wish you happiness! We wish you happiness!

PRINCE. Overcome your timidity, my joy, and say something. Dear, these gentlemen belong to the best society, don’t be afraid of them, as if in front of you is a crowd of cannibals or monkeys from the island of Borneo. Sorry, gentlemen, but my bride is unusually delicate, proud and shy. Be lenient. (To Yvonne.) Sit down, dear, we won’t stand forever.

YVONNE (as if trying to sit on the floor).

PRINCE. But not here!

GUESTS. Ha ha ha!

1st MR. I could have sworn there was a chair there.

1st LADY. Was, but floated away.

GUESTS. Ha ha ha! Witchcraft! Bad luck for the poor thing!

CHAMBERLAIN. I beg you, please. (Hands Yvonne a chair.) Just be careful!

KIRILL. Hold tight so you don't run away again!

CHAMBERLAIN. Be careful, don't miss!

PRINCE. Don't miss, darling.

Yvonne sits down.

That's good!

Everyone sits down except the Prince.

1st LADY (towards the Prince, familiarly). To tell the truth, Prince, she is simply ridiculous! Hilarious! I'm going to burst out laughing!

2nd LADY (towards the Prince). Oh, I'm dying! I'm dying of laughter! Nowadays this is the most fashionable type of joke - a practical joke; I didn’t know that you, prince, could act out so talentedly. No, just look, ha ha ha!

PRINCE (encouraging the guests to laugh). Ha ha ha!

GUESTS. Ha ha ha!

PRINCE (louder). Ha ha ha!

GUESTS (louder). Ha ha ha!

PRINCE (even louder). Ha ha ha!

GUESTS (hesitantly). Ha ha ha!

1st LADY. Unfortunately, I have to go... I remembered that I have a meeting. I hope you, Prince, are sorry.

2nd LADY. I have to go too... Sorry, Prince... They are waiting for me... (Quietly to the Prince.) Now I understand. All this was started to harm us! To make fun of us, right? You, prince, wanted to make fun of us! You got engaged to this unfortunate woman to make fun of us! This is simply a caustic hint at the vices and shortcomings of... some of the ladies of the court. Oh I get it! You heard about how much effort Iolanta spends on cosmetics and massage... and that's why you got engaged to such a dirty little girl... to make fun of Iolanta, ha ha! I figured out the ironic meaning of your idea! Goodbye!

PRINCE. Ironic meaning?

1st LADY (overhearing). Even if so, it’s more likely to expose your two false teeth, which everyone knows about, to public scrutiny and ridicule! Ha-ha, don’t be so cruel to her, prince, ha-ha - goodbye, I’m already late.

2nd LADY. My teeth? In my opinion, it’s your planted bust!

1st LADY. Or your crooked back!

2nd LADY. Better watch your toes!

GUESTS. Went! It's time for us!

PRINCE. Why are you, gentlemen, running away?

GUESTS. We must go already! Goodbye! It is time!

The GUESTS leave, except the CHAMBER and INNOCENT; exclamations are heard: “leg”, “teeth”, “massage”, “cosmetics” and sarcastic laughter.

CHAMBERLAIN. Sorry, prince, sorry, prince, sorry, prince, but I have to talk to you, and now! Please give me a minute to chat! You scared the beautiful ladies so much!

PRINCE. They were not afraid of me, but of their own vices. It turns out there is nothing more terrifying. Ha! What is war, pestilence, and the like compared to an ordinary, minor, but hidden shortcoming, in other words, a defect.

INNOCENT. Sorry.

PRINCE. What's happened? Are you staying?

INNOCENT. Yes sir. Sorry. I just wanted to point out that this is meanness.

PRINCE. What?

INNOCENT. This is meanness. Sorry, I'll sit down. (Sits down, breathing heavily.) Excitement always takes my breath away.

PRINCE. Did you say something that was meanness?

INNOCENT. Sorry. I got carried away. Excuse me, prince. Forget about this incident. I'm sorry. (Wants to leave.)

PRINCE. Wait a minute, wait, you said something, that this is meanness. Pause for a moment.

INNOCENT (speaks either with deathly calm or with extreme irritation). But I see that I can no longer cope.

CHAMBERLAIN. Can't cope? Can't cope? What is this strange expression to cope with?

INNOCENT. Get over what you started. (Wants to leave.) Sorry.

PRINCE. Wait, why such mystery, sir...

INNOCENT. The whole point is that I love her... and that’s why I got carried away and protested. But now I take back my protest and ask you to forget this whole incident.

PRINCE. You? Do you love her?

KIRILL. That's the thing!

CHAMBERLAIN. Comedy!

PRINCE. You struck me to the heart, sir. Unexpectedly, the matter took a very serious turn. I don't know if you're familiar with these sudden transitions from laughter to seriousness. There is even something sacred in this. Some kind of insight. I am convinced that trivial words - “love is blind” - should be placed on the pediments of churches.

INNOCENT. I'm just a humble person.

PRINCE. Yvonne, forgive me. Thank God, that means it’s still possible for you... Therefore, it’s possible... And you have a person who... What a relief! I started all this only because I couldn’t stand you - even the thought of you was unbearable - if we’re talking seriously... I’m sorry, please. My children, I bless you. Go in peace. Leave me alone.

KIRILL (seeing that Yvonne has lowered her head). Crying...

PRINCE. Crying? It's out of happiness.

KIRILL. I wouldn't trust this crybaby too much. She can only cry out of grief. Do you love him?

YVONNE (silent).

KIRILL. This is silence as a sign of denial.

PRINCE. Oh! No need to worry! If you find a person who loves you, that's already half the battle. (To Innocent.) You are a decisive person, a true man. Falling in love with her is a wonderful thing! You saved the whole world from disaster. It is our duty to show you the highest honors!

INNOCENT. My dignity forces me to declare that she loves me too, but, apparently, she is ashamed to admit this to you, prince, because loving me really does not honor her. (To Yvonne.) Why pretend - you yourself have said more than once that you love me.

YVONNE (silent).

INNOCENT (irritated). Well, well, no need to wonder. To be completely honest, you attract me just as much as I attract you, and maybe even less.

PRINCE. You hear?

INNOCENT (coldly). Allow me, prince, I will explain everything. If I said that I loved her, I meant - well, that I simply did not find anything better, due to lack. So to speak, due to lack...

CHAMBERLAIN. Fi donc! How can you!

INNOCENT. The whole point is that the best women, and even mediocre ones, are incredibly difficult to deal with and unkind to me, but with her I relax, you can at least rest around her, and I am no worse for her than she is for me, with her I at least I can forget for a while about this tireless, endless rivalry... About all this tinsel. We fell in love with each other because I don’t like her as much as she likes me, and there is no inequality.

PRINCE. I admire your frankness!

INNOCENT. I would gladly deceive you, but now it’s impossible, times are no longer the same, everything is in plain sight, the fig leaves have withered. And there is nothing left to do but be frank. Yes, I don’t hide the fact that our love is so... for the sake of mutual consolation... after all, I enjoy success with women to the same extent as she does with men. But I will also not hide the fact that I am jealous - yes, I will not hide my jealousy, I will express it with all consistency, I have the right! (To Yvonne, with unexpected passion.) Fell in love with him? Fell in love? Well? What?

YVONNE (shouting). Go away! Away! Away! Go away!

INNOCENT. Fell in love!

YVONNE (calming down). Out!

PRINCE. She responded. But in that case... She answered. She spoke. Did you hear? But in this case... it means... if I'm talking... that she's really in love with me...

INNOCENT. That's how it is visible. And as always, I lost. And therefore he must leave. I'm leaving. (Leaves.)

PRINCE. Fell in love... But I should have hated it. I'm making fun of her. I humiliate. And she fell in love. And now... he loves me. Because I can't stand her. This is why he loves me. The situation is getting serious.

VALENTIN enters.

Go away, Valentin! What should I do now?

CHAMBERLAIN. This situation, prince, should be treated with your typical youthful frivolity!

PRINCE (to Yvonne). No. Say no. You do not love me?

YVONNE (silent).

PRINCE. If she loves me, then I... then I, therefore, am loved by her... And if I am loved by her, then I am her beloved... I exist in her. She enclosed me within herself. And I have no right to despise her... if she loves me. I have no right to continue to despise her here if there, in her, I am her lover. Ah, after all, I, in fact, always believed that I existed only here, on my own, in myself - and then immediately - bam! She caught me - and I found myself in her, as if in a trap! (To Yvonne.) If I am your beloved, then I cannot help but love you. I will have to love you... and I will love you...

KIRILL. What are you thinking?

PRINCE. Love her.

KIRILL. You are planning something incredible! This is impossible!

PRINCE. Yvonne, put on your hat.

KIRILL and CHAMBER. Where are you going? Where are you going?

PRINCE. We'll take a walk. Together. Alone. To fall in love.

THE PRINCE and YVONNE leave.

KIRILL. What to do now?

CHAMBERLAIN. Turned his head!

KIRILL. For such an ugly creature to turn his head? So ugly?

CHAMBERLAIN. Ugly women, when you let them too close to you, can sometimes turn your head more than beautiful ones.

KIRILL. My mind refuses me!

CHAMBERLAIN. And I assure you, there is nothing more dangerous... It is usually believed that danger comes from pleasant women, but unpleasant, truly unpleasant woman affects men - just as, however, a truly unpleasant man affects women... wow! I always try not to get too involved. The opposite sex is always attractive! And such an unpleasant woman, especially if she is young and if her unpleasant qualities are clearly expressed ho, ho, ho! Especially for young man, who approaches her trustingly, ardently - ho, ho, ho - and then suddenly finds himself face to face... with such creepy... creepy things...

KIRILL. What things?

CHAMBERLAIN. You, young man, don’t know about them, but I, although I hope I have a considerable life experience, I don’t know either. There is a certain class of phenomena which a gentleman cannot know, for the reason that if he knew them he would cease to be a gentleman.

What's there again?

VALENTIN enters.

VALENTINE. Open?

Enter the KING and QUEEN.

QUEEN. Where is Philip? Are they not there?

CHAMBERLAIN. Gone.

KING. We came here in person because he... Dear God, what did he do there again? The ladies ran to the queen with a complaint that our son, supposedly on purpose, as a prank, got engaged to this scarecrow, in order to make fun of, well, this... some kind of imperfections in their appearance... Ha-ha-ha! What a bastard! Well, if he’s just doing it for the sake of it, then it’s not so bad.

QUEEN. And yet such things should not be allowed. My ladies-in-waiting are terribly indignant, and here you are making inappropriate jokes.

CHAMBERLAIN. Yes Yes Yes! If only that were the case! Be careful!

KING. What's happened?

CHAMBERLAIN. It happened... What happened is that he is now falling in love with her... wants to love her... No, everything that is happening here cannot be expressed in words. The tongue won't turn! The situation is... explosive. Your Majesties! Be careful or it will explode!

King and queen. What to do?

Chambers in the castle. KIRILL sits on a chair, two ladies pass by, giggling, followed by a PRINCE.

PRINCE. What are you doing here?

KIRILL. And nothing.

PRINCE. What were they talking about? Didn't you hear what those twirlers were laughing at? Didn't pay attention?

KIRILL. Women laugh all the time. Giggling is the natural state of any woman, since a smile always decorates them.

PRINCE. Isn't this above me?

KIRILL. Why on earth would they laugh at you? Until now they had only made fun of each other.

PRINCE. If not over me, then over her... over my fiancée. I notice, however, that the nature of the laughter has changed. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it's starting to seem to me that I'm becoming the object of ridicule instead of... her. All the courtiers - both ladies and gentlemen - are constantly whispering and giggling. Or maybe I just imagined it? But I can guess... I ask you... Please try to find out what they are saying about us, what kind of ridicule they are. I want to know what they're laughing at. Of course, I don't care at all, I just want to know. And if necessary, tell them that if they continue to allow themselves behind my back...

KIRILL. Philip, what's happening to you? You became irritable and touchy, as if you were your own bride.

PRINCE. Well, well, don't allow yourself too much. Enough. I'm not used to me, my actions, my feelings becoming the subject of ridicule. Tell this audience, if anyone allows themselves to be tactless, even by hint...

In the depths, doors open, to the sounds of fanfare enter: KING, QUEEN, CHAMBER, YVONNE, ISA, courtiers.

QUEEN. Did you like it? It was delicious? Is it true? Are you full, baby? (Smiling, kisses Yvonne.) Would you like another pear? Sugared pear? Baked in sugar? Would you like something sweet?

YVONNE (silent).

QUEEN. The pear will give you strength. (Laughs.) This is useful! Healthy!

KING. Healthy! Oh-ho-ho.

Silence.

QUEEN. Or maybe a little cream? Cream strengthens. This is useful. Well, do you want some cream? Or milk? Milk with sugar?

Silence.

Well, what are you doing? No appetite? Oh, this is no good. What should we do now? What? What should we do?

YVONNE (silent).

CHAMBERLAIN. Nothing? (Laughs condescendingly.) Nothing?

KING. Nothing? (Laughs condescendingly. Suddenly nervously.) Nothing? (To the Chamberlain.) Nothing?

QUEEN. Nothing...

CHAMBERLAIN. Absolutely nothing, Your Majesty. In essence, so to speak, nothing.

Silence.

QUEEN. How timid she is... So sweet and quiet. Only if she would answer us at least occasionally. (To Yvonne.) You should answer at least occasionally, my bird. It's not difficult. You should say something at least sometimes, baby, decency, basic decency requires it. You probably don't want to violate decency... What? Well what are we going to do? What shall we do now? A?

KING. Well?

CHAMBERLAIN. A?

YVONNE (silent).

KING. Well, so how? Nothing? You can't not know what you want! You can't wander around the house all day and do nothing - nothing! It's boring. It's boring after all. (Looks at everyone in shock.) Boring! Fear God!

CHAMBERLAIN. Boring!

QUEEN. Dear God!

VALENTIN (entering). Your Highness, the doctor has arrived and is waiting in the gallery.

PRINCE (to Yvonne). Let's go talk to the doctor. With your permission!

THE PRINCE and YVONNE go to the door.

QUEEN. Philip! Please take a moment! Philip! (The Prince returns. The Queen returns to the courtiers.) Leave us, gentlemen, we need to talk to our son.

The courtiers step aside.

Philip, you have nothing to complain about, we respect your feelings. They accepted the poor bird as father and mother. But is it possible to somehow influence her to become more sociable? Today at dinner I was silent again. And she was silent at dinner. She was also silent at breakfast. And in general, he is silent all the time. What does this look like and what do we look like because of this silence of hers? Philip, you need to maintain decency.

PRINCE (sarcastically). Decency!

QUEEN. Philip, my son, didn’t we treat her cordially, like a daughter? Don’t we love her, despite her many shortcomings, because she loves you?

PRINCE (threateningly). So love her! Love it! In any case - I would not advise you not to love her! (Comes out.)

QUEEN. Lord, enlighten, Lord, show the way! Ignacy, maybe you don’t treat her warmly enough - she’s afraid of you.

KING. Afraid... And how she sneaks around the corners and keeps looking out of the windows, now at one, then at the other. And nothing. (Surprised.) And nothing more! She will look out all the windows for us. Afraid... (To the Chamberlain.) Give me the report! Look, France is seething again! (To herself.) She’s afraid, but doesn’t she know what? To be afraid of me? (To the Queen.) And you too - you lead all the round dances around her. (Teases.) Pear, cake... Like the owner of a boarding house.

QUEEN. Yes, but you behave absolutely at ease with her before speaking, making sure to swallow your saliva. Maybe you think you can't hear it. And you talk to her as if you are afraid of her.

KING. I? Like I'm afraid? She's the one who's afraid. (Quiet.) Rogue.

CHAMBERLAIN. Probably, the majesty of Your Majesty instills timidity in her, which does not surprise me at all, since I myself sometimes experience sacred awe. And, nevertheless, I would think it would be useful if Your Majesty would deign to chat with her alone... To instill in her more confidence...

KING. Should I be alone with her? With this tsatsa?

QUEEN. Great idea. She needs to be tamed gradually - first somewhere on the sidelines, alone, and then she will get used to us, so we will help her free herself from her incredible isolation and timidity. Ignacy, take this seriously. Now I will send her here under some pretext. Philip is talking to the doctor. I’ll send her as if for a skein of wool, and you treat her like a father. (Comes out.)

KING. You, chamberlain, sometimes blurt out something like that - well, what am I going to talk to her about?

CHAMBERLAIN. But, Your Majesty, this is the most common thing - to come up, smile, talk, joke - then she, of course, will have to smile or even laugh - and then Your Majesty will smile again - and so from the smiles will arise what we call the atmosphere of secular communication.

KING. I’ll smile, I’ll smile... And should I grimace in front of her because she’s timid? Chamberlain, you should take care of this yourself somehow. (Wants to leave.)

CHAMBERLAIN. But, Your Majesty! After all, I think it’s not the first time that Your Majesty has been given courage, as well as instilling timidity.

KING. Yes, but she's afraid... You see... well, she's... afraid, a rogue.

CHAMBERLAIN. Every person is afraid of something.

KING. I agree, but she is afraid somehow sluggishly - she is afraid, but somehow apathetically. (Frightened.) Chamberlain, she is afraid indifferently. Wow, here he comes. Hold on, I won’t be the only one here clowning around in front of her. Don't go, stay. Uh, uh, uh. (Tries to put on a kind expression on his face.)

YVONNE enters.

Ah-ah-ah, please.

Yvonne approaches and looks around. The king is good-natured.

Well, well, what is there - what is there?

YVONNE. Wool...

KING. Wool?

YVONNE. Wool...

KING. Ooh! Here's the wool. (Laughs.)

YVONNE takes a skein of wool.

YVONNE (silent).

KING. Lost fur?

YVONNE (silent).

KING. Hm, hm! (Comes closer.) Well, well, what is it? Oh well. (Laughs.) Well? We seem a little scared? A? There is nothing to be afraid of. Well! Nothing! (Impatiently.) If I said - nothing, then - nothing!

YVONNE (steps back a little).

KING. After all, I am the father... Philip's father, dad? Ugh! Not dad, but father! In any case... I'm not a stranger. (Approaches, Yvonne steps back.) Well, don’t do that... I’m an ordinary person. The most ordinary one is not King Herod! Didn't eat anyone. So there is nothing to be afraid of. And I'm not a beast. I'm telling you, I'm not a beast! Not a beast! (Excitedly.) And there is nothing to be afraid of! I'm not a beast! (Approaches, Yvonne sharply retreats, dropping a skein of wool, the King screams.) Well, I’m telling you, there’s nothing to be afraid of! After all, I'm not a beast!!!

CHAMBERLAIN. No no. Shhh... Not like that!

KING. Such a bastard!

Yvonne continues to retreat and exits.

CHAMBERLAIN. Quiet! They might hear!

KING. Fears. Chamberlain, do you remember the one... who was afraid of that... Tsatsa... Mmmm... Bye bye...

CHAMBERLAIN. I would say that she doesn’t even know how to be afraid. Some of the court ladies are simply wonderfully afraid - charmingly, piquantly - but this one has a kind of naked fear. (With disgust.) Naked!

KING. Ha! I remembered something.

CHAMBERLAIN. Do you remember?

KING. Fears. Do you remember, chamberlain, do you remember that... which that... which we... For a long time now. How everything is forgotten.

CHAMBERLAIN. Who, Your Majesty?

KING. Yes, it was a long time ago. I completely forgot myself. For a long time. I was still a prince back then, and you were only in the chamberlain project. Do you remember that little girl who... who we... Yes, it seems, on this very couch. She, it seems, was a seamstress...

CHAMBERLAIN. Yeah, a seamstress, on a couch... Oh, youth, youth, it was a wonderful time. (Valentin enters.) What do you want, Valentin? Please don't interfere.

VALENTIN leaves.

KING. She died later, right? Looks like I drowned myself...

CHAMBERLAIN. But of course! I remember it like today. I went to the bridge, and from the bridge into the river... Eh, youth, youth, what could be more beautiful.

KING. Don't you think she looked like that little girl?

CHAMBERLAIN. Why, your Majesty, this one is a plump blonde, and that one was one of the lean, piquant brunettes.

KING. Yes! But I was also afraid. Tsatsa. Mmm-mm. I was afraid just the same. I was scared as hell - a rascal!

CHAMBERLAIN. If this memory causes your Majesty even the slightest grief, it is better not to remember. It is better not to remember dead women. A dead woman is no longer a woman.

KING. She was afraid and, just like this one, she was somehow tortured. On this very couch. And it is necessary that there is always someone... that... when something... Pah, pah! This is diabolical, chamberlain, I remember damn clearly.

Enter the QUEEN.

QUEEN. Congratulations! You just magically cheered her up! Just wonderful! The poor thing can't catch her breath! What fly bit you, Ignatius? You ruined everything!

KING. Devilishness, devilishness! Don't come close to me, my lady.

QUEEN. What happened to you? Why can't I get closer to you?

KING. From what? Why? Again - why? Am I not allowed to do as I please? Am I under guardianship? Not the master of your own home? Do you have to account for everything? Well, why are you looking at me? Why are you looking at me? Everything - why and how? Why did you shout? Because she reminds me of something!

CHAMBERLAIN. Don't talk about it! Your Majesty, why remember again!

KING. Yes, it reminded me of something, but about you! About you, my dear!

QUEEN. About me?

KING. Ha ha ha, why are you looking like that? Damn it, Margarita, I admit: yes, I lost my temper, but imagine, it’s strange, I can’t look at this baby without immediately remembering something about you. I didn’t want to say, it’s not entirely convenient, but since you’re asking, I’ll be frank. Sometimes it happens that one person resembles another, but... how can I put it... not quite dressed. And when I look at our little creature, how she moves... how she digs, fidgets... you understand how something seems to be squelching inside her... then something immediately reminds me of you, somehow it suddenly appears the thought of you... in negligee...

QUEEN. She reminds you of me... what? In a negligee?

KING. Exactly! Exactly what you are thinking now! Well, tell me - what? Tell me what you're thinking now, and then we'll find out if we're thinking about the same thing. Tell me in your ear.

QUEEN. Ignatius! What are you talking about?

KING. So I'm right, my queen! That means we have our own secrets!

QUEEN. You're forgetting yourself!

KING. On the contrary - I remember! I remember! I remember evrything! Bye bye! Mu Mu! (Suddenly comes out.)

QUEEN. What does all of this mean?

THE CHAMBER runs out after the KING. THE QUEEN stands thoughtfully, puts her finger to her forehead. ISA comes in and twirls in front of the mirror.

Stop flirting.

ISA (ashamed). Your Majesty...

QUEEN. You flirt all the time. Ever since this... this... unfortunate woman appeared at court, you have all been flirting endlessly. Come to me, dear young lady. I need to ask you something.

ISA. Empress...

QUEEN. Look in my eyes. Admit it - you didn’t tell anyone, you didn’t blab to anyone about... about my poems? Tell me frankly, I couldn’t resist telling you!

ISA. Your Majesty!

QUEEN. So you didn't tell anyone? About nothing? Then I don't understand how he could have known. He probably found my notebook under the mattress.

ISA. Who, Your Majesty?

QUEEN. This is the only reason, it cannot be otherwise. That's all he meant! And now - tell me frankly, you can talk to me as if I were not a queen, I am temporarily freeing you from all the conventions of the ceremony. Answer sincerely, when you look at Yvonne, nothing comes to your mind? No thoughts arise? Well, certain associations?.. Her gait, for example? Her nose? The look and the whole demeanor in general? Doesn't this remind you of anything? Don't you think that some scoffer could find some connection here with... with... with my poetry, into which I may have put too much poetry... my poetry... my confessional poetry? Ah!

ISA. What? Your poetry, lady, and... and... How is this?

QUEEN. Damn my poetry! This world is too rough! Damn my impulses, ecstasies, dreams and confessions! You don't want to be sincere with me! Ha... he said: "in a negligee", why "in a negligee"? If I hadn’t read poetry, I wouldn’t have said it - but were those lines of mine negli?.. A disgusting word! You're not telling me the whole truth! Now swear that you will not say a word about what I just told you. Swear it! Swear before these candles. I'm not in the mood for jokes. Swear it! And leave your false shame. Quickly, on your knees... and repeat after me: I swear...

The PRINCE enters.

PRINCE. Mom, I would like to talk to you. Ah, sorry. Looks like I stopped you from doing your magic.

QUEEN. No, it’s okay, she’s adjusting my shoe. They bought me too wide.

PRINCE. Why did the king scare my bride?

QUEEN. Philip, just please, not in that tone!

PRINCE. And what? In what tone should I speak if my father attacks my fiancée for no reason, shouts at her - in the rudest form! If my fiancée was almost paralyzed with fright. If I can’t move away even for a moment without you immediately starting to do things to her, what’s on your mind? It seems to me that, on the contrary, I am too calm.

VALENTIN enters.

Come out, Valentin. Mom, I would like to talk to you alone.

QUEEN. I will agree to talk with you, but first tell me what you want to talk about.

ISA comes out.

PRINCE. You are very careful, madam. Sorry, Mom, but I have to tell you something... something that may seem a little wild and eccentric. I don't even know how best to express it. Does she really remind the king of some of your sins?

QUEEN. Who told you?

PRINCE. Father! He allegedly yelled at her because she reminded him of some of your intimate sins.

Enter the KING and CHAMBER.

QUEEN. Ignatius, what did you say to Philip?

KING. Did you say anything? I didn't say anything. He was boring me, so I told him. And he - what? How? Why? I told him the whole truth. It would be better if he bothered you, not me.

QUEEN. Ignatius!

PRINCE. Just a minute... just a minute... Think about the position you're putting me in. Suddenly, out of the blue, my father attacks my fiancée. He scolds her with the last words, and when I ask him about the reason, which, it seems to me, I have every right to, you tell me such things that I cease to understand what I should think about all this, how to react to this? What happens? My mother has sinned, and that is why my father is attacking my fiancée?

KING. Yes, I'm lashing out. Yes, I'm the father who lashes out. So what, maybe you think there’s something wrong here? What am I because of my own sins? Margarita, why are you looking like that? Don't look at me, or I'll start looking at you.

PRINCE. So my parents are looking at each other because of my fiancée. The mother looks at the father, and the father looks at the mother, and everything is about the bride.

KING. Come on, Philip, don't make a fool out of your father. Calm down.

QUEEN. Philip, your father got agitated and told you God knows what, as long as you didn’t torment him with questions. There is no need to discuss such nonsense any longer. Better change the subject.

PRINCE. Empress, I know that all this is nonsense.

QUEEN. Let's not talk about this. Absolute nonsense!

PRINCE. Nonsense, no doubt. Just stupidity. Even idiocy. (Bows.)

QUEEN. Why did you bow to me?

PRINCE (confidentially). Because I myself look a little idiotic in front of her...

QUEEN. Are you being idiotic?

PRINCE. There is no other way to call it. I don't love her. And therefore I readily believe that you, too, behave senselessly and idiotically with her, because I myself behave the same way towards her.

KING. Well, well, don't allow yourself too much. (The prince bows.) Why are you bowing, donkey? What?

PRINCE (confidentially). With her you can do whatever you want.

KING. What? What? Anything? I don't allow myself anything like that. What do you want from me? Chamberlain... (Retreats.) This is... Hmm... What kind of news is this?

QUEEN. Philip, what do these bows of yours mean? Stop bowing!

KING (aside). Scoundrel! Scoundrel!

CHAMBERLAIN. If you can do whatever you want with her, this does not mean that you, prince, can do the same with us. (The prince bows to him - he jumps back.) Not to me! Why are you bowing to me? I have nothing to do with everything that is happening! Please don't come near me!

PRINCE (confidentially). And anyone can approach her. Grab her by the hair. Behind the ear!

KING (suddenly). Ha ha ha! (He falls silent in shame.) This... that... Hmm...

CHAMBERLAIN. Prince, if you, Your Highness, touch me, then I...

PRINCE. And anyone can touch it! Believe me, you can do whatever your heart desires with it! She is such that you can do anything with her! Shy. He won't protest. And unlikable. And everything is possible. With her you can behave idiotically, disgustingly, stupidly, scary, cynically - as you want - as you please. (Bows to the Chamberlain.) Complete freedom... Complete freedom...

CHAMBER (recoils). None of this concerns me! I don't care. (Bows to the Prince.) Goodbye... Goodbye... (Exits.)

KING. Scoundrel. Scoundrel. Well, well, son... Why are you staring like that? Goodbye. (Bows.) Goodbye. Out! Out! (Comes out.)

QUEEN. What does all of this mean?! Explain what all this means, why you are saying all this... Goodbye, goodbye. (Comes out.)

PRINCE (following those leaving). Everything is possible! All! Whoever wants anything. (To herself.) And she sits there, sits somewhere in the corner and loves me - and loves me! Loves me! And everything is possible! Everything is possible! Who will like what! All! (Notices Izu, who wants to leave, getting up from a chair in the back of the set, where she sat during the entire scene. The Prince comes up to her and kisses her on the neck.) You don’t have to stand on ceremony with her!

ISA. Let me go!

PRINCE. Oh! Don't be shy! Everything is possible. (Kisses her on the lips.) Ah! What a pleasure...

ISA (trying to free himself). I'm going to scream now!

PRINCE. I’m telling you, don’t be shy, anything is possible with her! Sorry! Actually, I didn't want to. Something like that... Sorry, what did I do? He acted like crazy.

ISA. Just arrogance!

PRINCE. I beg you, don’t tell anyone, because if the rumor reaches my fiancee, she will suffer... She will suffer! Suffer, suffer, suffer!

ISA. Let me go, prince!

PRINCE (continuing to hold her). Now, now... Be patient. (Kisses.) Oh, what a nose, what a sponge! Don't go! Looks like I'm cheating on her! It's horrible! But this is wonderful! Oh, how easy it is for me! (Screams.) Valentine! Valentine!

ISA (breaking free). I ask you at least not to call anyone.

PRINCE. On the contrary, on the contrary, my golden...

VALENTIN enters.

Valentin, please ask Mr. Kirill to invite Mademoiselle Yvonne here! Fast!

VALENTIN leaves.

I won't even think about letting you go. Only now, with you, do I feel in my place. Oh, what a pleasure it is to hold a creature in your arms... that does not cause disgust. I'll send you flowers. Oh, how easy it is. I should enjoy this lightness. The lightness that I have regained! I love you!

KIRILL and YVONNE enter.

Kirill, now Iza is my bride!

KIRILL. Like this?!

PRINCE. Yvonne, I have to confess something to you. I just cheated on you with Iza. And you cease to be my bride. I'm very sorry, but I can't do anything. You lack the sex appeal that Isa is supremely endowed with. Don’t be angry that I inform you about what happened in this way, so unexpectedly, but I decided to take advantage of a certain lightness that suddenly came to me thanks to you... thanks to you, my treasure. (Kisses Iza’s hand, then to Yvonne.) Well, why are you standing there? Please stop, stop as long as you like, I don’t care! And goodbye! I'm leaving, I'm sailing, I'm leaving, I'm moving away, I'm breaking up with you! And you won’t be able to withstand anything!

KIRILL. She can't stand anything! Let it last at least ten years! What a joy!

PRINCE (to Iza). Sorry, my precious, I forgot to ask you about consent. Don't refuse me. (Kisses her hand.) Ah, every such touch heals me. I will give all the necessary orders now. There is no need to hide from the world that we are engaged. And the parents will be happy. Chamberlain... our glorious chamberlain! Courtiers... what a relief for everyone. After all, the atmosphere at court was truly becoming unbearable. (To Yvonne.) Why are you standing there? In my opinion, everything has already been clarified between us. What else are you waiting for, my dear?

KIRILL. She won't budge on her own.

PRINCE. Call this, her lover, and let him take her for himself, or, in any case, take her from here and take her to her place of permanent residence.

KIRILL. I'll bring him right away and we'll send her off. This very minute, Philip! Just... make sure she doesn't stand up to something here!

PRINCE. Don't be afraid!

KIRILL leaves.

And you can stand as long as you like, you won’t be able to put me in a stupid position anymore. I became different. I changed my tone, and immediately everything changed! Here you stand, like a reproach to your conscience, but I don’t care! Well, stop if you want! Ha, ha, ha. However, you love being hurt because you have absolutely no sex appeal. You don’t love yourself, you are your own enemy, and therefore you subconsciously provoke and set everyone against each other, and everyone feels like a robber and a scoundrel towards you. But now, even if you stood here for a year, your gloom and tragedy will not be able to overcome my carelessness and lightness. (Laughs playfully towards Yvonne and spins around with Iza.)

ISA. Maybe it's better not to talk to her like that? Be merciful, Philip.

PRINCE. No, no, no mercy. Only frivolity! I already know her - I have experience. Firstly, while she is waiting here, you need to constantly say something, and secondly, you should say exactly the worst things, and in a light, cheerful tone. The main thing is to say all the most unpleasant, obscene things in an innocent, dismissive tone. This deprives her of the opportunity to express herself, deprives her silence of the power of influence, and the fact that she sticks out here ceases to matter at all. All this takes her into a realm where she is helpless. You don't have to worry, now I'm no longer in danger. It's damn easy to break a connection with a person; it's primarily a matter of changing your tone. Let him stand as long as he likes, please, let him stand and watch... But by the way, we will leave. Absolutely right, it just didn’t occur to me that I could just pick up and leave. If she stands, then we leave. (Yvonne leans over.) Don't you dare bow to me!

YVONNE. I don't bow.

PRINCE. Put it down! What did you pick up from the floor? What is this? Hair? What do you need it for? Whose hair is this? Isa's hair. Put it down - do you want to take it? For what?

YVONNE (silent).

Enter KIRILL and INNOCENTY.

INNOCENT. Sorry, but that's not how it works! You, prince, made a girl fall in love with you, and now you are pushing her away! Royal whims! You made her unhappy! I protest!

PRINCE. What? What? Are you protesting?

INNOCENT. Sorry, I'm trying to protest. (Under the Prince’s menacing gaze, he suddenly sits down.)

PRINCE. Look how this man sat down for his protest.

KIRILL. He sat down like a dog on his tail. Well, on the road! Take your darling.

PRINCE. Stop! Let him give up his hair!

KIRILL. What hair, prince?

PRINCE. Yvonne, give back your hair! Let her give up her hair!

ISA. I have enough hair. Philip...

PRINCE. No, no, let him give it back! I can't stand it if she... still has... this hair! Give it back! (Takes away the hair.) Took it away! So what if he took it away? She is not this hair - she enclosed us both within herself! (To Iza.) We ended up there, in it. She has. In her possession. Come out everyone! I'll be right there. Kirill!

Everyone comes out except PRINCE and KIRILL.

Keep her in the castle. Don't give her a chance to leave. Tell them not to announce our breakup just yet. Let everything remain as it was for a while.

KIRILL. So I knew that she would withstand something. You're starting again!

PRINCE. On the contrary, I want to end it once and for all. Do not be scared. I'll have to... (Points to his throat.)

KIRILL. What?! Whom?!

PRINCE. Yvonne.

KIRILL. Don't go crazy, for God's sake. After all, everything has already been settled. You broke up with her. I'll send her home. She won't be there anymore.

PRINCE. It won’t be here, but it will be somewhere else. Wherever she is, she will always be. I'll be here, and she'll be there... Brrr... I don't want to. It's better to kill once.

KIRILL. But you are cured!

PRINCE. I give you my word, I am completely cured. And fell in love with Izu. I managed to break away from the suffering of this sufferer. But, Kirill, we found ourselves in it, Isa and I - we are in it, and she will be there, in herself, with us... above us... she will deal with us in her own way, in her own way, do you understand? Ugh, ugh! Don't want. I'll kill her. What will change when she leaves? Yes, he will leave, but he will carry us away with himself... Yes, of course, I know that you shouldn’t do this, that you shouldn’t kill... believe me, I’m in my right mind, I understand what I’m saying, I’m not exaggerating at all, not at all , nor in the other direction... (With slight concern.) You have to admit that I don't look like a crazy person.

KIRILL. Do you want to kill her? literally words, that is, just take it and kill? But this is a crime.

PRINCE. Just one more prank, just one more eccentric trick, so that later there won’t be any at all. Moreover, everything will be done absolutely smoothly, calmly, soberly, easily - you will see for yourself, it only seems to you that it is scary, but in fact, in reality it is an ordinary operation, nothing more. It’s very easy to kill such a little bastard, she just asks for it. Do you promise to help me?

KIRILL. What is she pushing you to do... you bastard!

PRINCE. We have reached a dead end with her and now we need to get out. And my engagement to Isa should be kept secret for now. Don't tell anyone about him. Let everything remain as it is until tomorrow. Tomorrow I will consider the most appropriate method of eliminating it. But you have to help me, because I’m alone... I don’t want to be alone, I have to be with someone, I can’t handle this alone.

Chambers in the castle. To the sound of fanfare, the KING enters, followed by three Dignitaries.

KING (absently). Well, okay, okay. You're just boring me. I have more important things to worry about. What else do you have there?

CHANCELLOR. Your Majesty, it is necessary to decide in what suit our Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary should be sent to France? In a tailcoat or in a uniform?

KING (gloomily). Let him ride naked. (The dignitaries are surprised.) Sorry, I'm a little distracted today. Let him ride whatever he wants, as long as it’s at his own expense.

CHIEF MARSHAL. Your Majesty, a gala dinner is scheduled for this evening in honor of the chivalrous betrothal of Prince Philip to a representative of the lower strata of society, Mademoiselle Yvonne Tsopek. Perhaps, Your Majesty, would deign to express special requests regarding the menu?

KING. Give them all the garbage... (The dignitaries are surprised.) That is - I wanted to say, delicacies... Why are you staring at me like that?

DIGITANTS. This is precisely the decision we expected, convinced of the deepest wisdom of Your Majesty.

SUPREME JUSTICE. Your Majesty, one more thing - here is a petition for pardon for old man Khlipek, supported by positive resolutions from all twelve authorities.

KING. What? How to pardon? Execute him!

DIGITANTS. Your Majesty!

KING. Execute, I said. What surprises you? The right to pardon belongs to me. But I do not agree to a pardon. Let him die! Death to the scoundrel, but not because he is a scoundrel, but because I... Hm... That... What did I want to say? We are all scoundrels. And you too. Stop staring at me. Look wherever you want, just not at me. I'm fed up with your constant staring. I command that from today no one dare to stare at me. Otherwise everyone just stares and stares.

DIGITANTS. This is precisely the decision we expected, convinced of the deepest wisdom of Your Majesty.

KING. Well, well, now get out. I'm tired of your chatter. And don’t dare be surprised by anything. So that no one is surprised. I was too lenient towards you! Now I’ll show everyone what I’m capable of. You will walk in line. (The dignitaries bow.) Well, well, don’t you dare bow! I forbid you to bow! Everyone just needs to bow! Out! Go away!

The alarmed Dignitaries come out, the KING looks around with suspicion, then hides behind the couch. The CHAMBER enters, looks around the room with caution and, as if reluctantly and secretly from himself, begins to angrily rearrange the furniture, moves a chair, turns away a corner of the carpet, turns the books on the shelf upside down, throws a plum pit on the floor, etc. Notices the KING.

CHAMBERLAIN. ABOUT!

KING. Hm... hmm...

CHAMBERLAIN. Your Majesty?!

KING. Yes I. What are you doing here?

CHAMBERLAIN. I? Nothing.

KING (gloomily). He was probably surprised to find me here. (With difficulty he crawls out of his hiding place.) Be surprised, be surprised - now this is the fashion: everyone does nothing but be surprised... I’m hiding here, well, you know, lurking.

CHAMBERLAIN. Your Majesty is hiding? Who are you waiting for?

KING. No one. No one in particular. Lurking just for fun. (Laughs.) You see, this room adjoins the chambers of our lady. And Margarita also sometimes passes here and even sits down. You can see something here. So I wanted to see it. See with your own eyes.

CHAMBERLAIN. For what?

KING. To Margarita.

CHAMBERLAIN. To Her Majesty?

KING. Her Majesty - you know, look at what she is like, what she does when no one is looking. We've lived together for so many years, but I actually don't know anything about her. Her conscience is not clear. Hm... Or maybe she - maybe she - maybe she... But what is it that she just can’t do. Anything can happen. When I think about it, my head is spinning. Maybe she's cheating on me? It's probably changing. Or maybe something else. Yes all! Anything! - I want to see her sins...

CHAMBERLAIN. Your Majesty is behind the couch...

KING. Shut up, donkey. I purposely hid behind the couch so that no one would notice me. Behind the couch you can! (Laughs.) You can! And you, chamberlain, why are you here? Why are you rearranging the furniture and, in general, set to work on this still life with such love?

CHAMBERLAIN. This? Just...

KING. Just? If it's just that, then speak up! Me too, just like that.

CHAMBERLAIN. Well, I walk around the castle and so on a little...

KING. What?

CHAMBER (laughs). I'm creating difficulties.

KING. Difficulties?

CHAMBERLAIN. Here, for example, is a chair. It's harder to sit on if it's standing like that. (Laughs.) You can sit by...

KING. Why are you, chamberlain, tossing the bones?

CHAMBERLAIN. I make it difficult to walk.

KING. Walking? (Gloomily.) Ah, that means she got you too... our little creep. Well, well, nothing, nothing.

CHAMBERLAIN. I, Your Majesty, am a person of a certain social level, a secular person, and therefore I cannot stand some... Your Majesty, if this continues, I don’t know what all this impudence, impudence... some kind of licentiousness will lead to...

KING. Yes, yes, I have enough impudence. Promiscuity, ha ha! Have you forgotten, old man? (Pushes him.)

CHAMBERLAIN. I don't want to remember anything!

KING. No, no, he bowed to you too! Well, well, nothing, nothing. The debauchery is growing, the insolence... Okay, okay. Chamberlain, what if she passes here... and I jump out to meet her. I'll jump out and scare you, ha ha! I'll scare you! You can do that with her! (Laughs.) You can! I'll scare you and... and... well, let's say, strangle you! I'll kill you! After all, we have already killed one.

CHAMBERLAIN. Your Majesty, fi donc!

KING. I'm telling you, you can do it with her. Anything is possible with her.

CHAMBERLAIN. Not possible, Your Majesty. This is all we needed! Fear God - and so the whole courtyard is already in a fever with gossip and gossip. His Majesty, His Serene Highness, jumping out from behind the couch... No, no! Never before has the strictest observance of tact and other rules of social communication been so necessary as under present circumstances. Although, it’s true, I also had a certain idea, (Laughs.) Something came to mind. (Laughs.)

KING. Why are you laughing so idiotically?

CHAMBERLAIN. This is me about my idea. (Laughs.) After all, today your Majesties are organizing a solemn banquet on the occasion of this most ill-fated betrothal. What if you serve some kind of fish to the table, bony fish, with sharp bones, crucian carp, for example, now crucian carp are the best fish, so serve crucian carp in sour cream.

VALENTIN enters.

Please come out!

KING (gloomily). Go away! Crucian carp?

CHAMBERLAIN. Karasei. (Laughs.)

KING. What does crucian carp have to do with it?

CHAMBERLAIN. Yes, Your Majesty, it was the crucian carp at the gala dinner party. Perhaps you, Your Majesty, also noticed that she, than more people, the more it is lost. And yesterday, when I looked at her, well, a little... arrogantly, haughtily... she almost choked on a potato, an ordinary potato. What if, Your Majesty, you serve crucian carp, and then - strictly, arrogantly. (Laughs.) Crucian carp is a difficult fish... bony... At a gala reception, in the presence of many strangers, it is easy to choke on it.

KING. Chamberlain... (Looks at him.) All this is a little... stupid... Crucian carp?

CHAMBER (offended). I know it's stupid. If it weren't stupid, I wouldn't say it.

KING. Chamberlain, but... if she really... if... Do you think she could really choke?..

CHAMBER (from above). Your Majesty admits this possibility? But this is stupid. And even if, by a strange coincidence, such a misfortune happened... what would we have in common... with such stupidity?

KING. Yes, but... we're talking about this now, aren't we?

CHAMBERLAIN. Oh, our conversation... so, by the way... (Looks at his nails.)

KING. By the way? No! That's what we'll do! With her, if you are strict and arrogant, you can do anything - any stupidity, the most stupid thing, such that no one will even dare to suspect anything. Crucian carp? Why not carps? Chamberlain, I ask, why not carps?

CHAMBERLAIN. Crucians, crucians...

KING. But why not carp? Or acne? Why? Why? Okay, let the crucian carp. Hm... (With fear.) Strictly? Sharp? From above?

CHAMBERLAIN. That's it! Your Serene Highness in all his majesty.

KING. Yes, yes, in all its greatness. Let there be a lot of lights, a lot of people and elegant costumes... Shine, festivity... If you shout at her with arrogance, she will choke... For sure. Choke to death. And no one will guess, because it’s too stupid - and from above, from above, and not on the sly, majestically, in all its splendor. We'll kill her from above. What? Hm... Wait, let's hide, the queen is coming.

CHAMBERLAIN. But I...

KING. Hide, quickly, I want to watch the queen.

They both hide behind the couch. The QUEEN enters, looks around - she has a bottle in her hand.

(To the side.) What is this?

CHAMBERLAIN. Shh...

The Queen takes a few steps towards Yvonne's room, stops - takes out a small notebook from behind her corset - emits a low groan, covers her face with her palm.

KING (aside). What kind of book of sorrow is this?

CHAMBER (aside). Shh...

QUEEN (reading). I'm completely alone. (Repeats.) Yes - I’m so lonely, completely lonely, I’m lonely... (Reads.) No one knows the secret of my womb. (Spoken) Nobody knows my womb. Nobody knows, oh, oh! (Is reading.)

Notebook friend, oh, only you

You deserve to know my dreams

And chaste dreams,

My unshed tears

Only you will know about them!

(Speaks.) Only you will know about them, only you will know. Ooo! (Covers his face.) How scary - scary... Kill, kill... (Looks at the bottle.) Poison, poison...

KING (aside). I?

QUEEN (with a grimace of pain). Only you will know. (Waving his hand.) Read on. Let's read! May reading give me strength to commit a monstrous act. (Is reading.)

For you, O people, I am on the throne

I'm wearing a crown.

Oh, you don't know the flame,

What is raging in my womb.

You think I'm proud

Prudent and firm.

And I just want to always be flexible.

(Speaks) Flexible, oh! Ooo! Flexible. And I wrote this! It is mine! My! Kill, kill! (Is reading.)

I want to be flexible like viburnum

And flexible like a rowan

And sensual, like Messalina,

To bend, all burning,

To be elastic, like the wind of May,

I just want flexibility! I don't need greatness!

Oh, how I crave flexibility, despising decency!

Flexibility, oh! Flexibility! Ah-ah-h! A! Burn, destroy! Viburnum, mountain ash, Messalina... How scary! I wrote this! This is mine, mine and, come what may, it must remain mine! Oh, only now I see how monstrous it is! And that means Ignatius... read! Ooh! And there is a similarity - there is a similarity... with the way she digs into herself, how something squishes inside her... Oh yes, of course, she evokes eerie associations with my poetry! Informer! She's exposing me! It's me! I! It is mine! There are similarities between us. Oh, how she exposed and exposed all my most secret things! Anyone who looks at her will immediately notice a resemblance to Margarita. Anyone who looks at it will immediately understand what I really am, as if he had read my works. Enough! Let her die! Yes, Margarita, you must destroy her! Get to work, killer bottle! She cannot exist in this world, the hour has struck - otherwise anyone will be able to discover this malicious relationship between us. I don’t want to become a victim of bullying, harassment, ridicule, or aggressiveness through the fault of this informer. Destroy! Bravely, boldly, let's quietly enter her room with the bottle, add a few drops to her medicine... No one will guess! Nobody will know. She is a sickly girl, everyone will think that she died, just like that... Who would think that it was me. After all, I am the queen! (He walks.) No, no, it’s not time yet. You can't go like this. I look as usual - and in this form I go to kill? No, I need to change my appearance. At least tousle your hair... Hair... Just a little, not too demonstrative, just slightly, so as not to look like always. Oh, that's it... Yes, yes!..

KING (aside). Shh...

QUEEN. But how can I walk in disheveled? Ooo! It might give you away! What if someone notices that your hair is a mess... Stop talking to yourself. She's probably talking to herself too. Margarita, stop talking to yourself - you might expose yourself. (Looks in the mirror.) Oh, how this mirror took me by surprise. I need to find the most repulsive features in my face, only then can I approach her. Stop talking to yourself. They might hear. I can't shut up. Do all murderers talk to themselves before committing a crime? So what's wrong with that? What's... abnormal about this? (Looks at himself.) Let me have a strange and sinister look. Contort your face, contort your face, Margarita! That's it, that's it, now let's go! You are with me, I am with you. That is, how is it - you are with me, I am with you - because I will go alone. Curse your face! Went! Remember all your poems and go! Remember all your secret, flexible dreams and go! Remember all the viburnums, all your rowan trees and go! Oh, oh, oh, I'm coming, I'm coming! Ah, I can’t bring myself to do it - all this is pure madness! Now, just a minute - let's put some more makeup on, and this... (Stains her face with ink.) Like this, now, with the stains, it will be easier... Now I have become different. Wait, this might give you away! Let's go! Death to the informer! I can not! Let's read more! I still have to read. (Takes out poetry.) Let’s read it, it will excite us and increase our thirst for murder.

KING (jumps out). Well, Margarita!

QUEEN. Ignatius!

KING. Here you are! Show me! (He wants to tear out the notebook.)

QUEEN. Let me in!

KING. Show me! Show me! Oh, you murderer! I want to get to know your sins better! Show me, and let's have a new honeymoon! Show me, poisoner!

QUEEN. Oh! (Falls unconscious.)

CHAMBERLAIN. Water! She feels sick!

KING. Well, you see how things turned out! He dreams of flexibility and therefore wants to kill the tsatsu! But it doesn't matter anymore. I killed her a long time ago anyway.

QUEEN (coming to her senses). Killed? Whom do you kill...

KING. I drowned her! With the chamberlain. We drowned her and the chamberlain...

CHAMBERLAIN. Water! Here's the water!

QUEEN. Drowned? Yvonne...

KING. Stupid. Not Yvonne, but it doesn't matter. Not Yvonne, the other one, well, there’s one. A long time ago. Now you know what lies within me. Do you know now? Compared to my sins, your stupid poems, of which you are also ashamed, are nothing. I killed that one, and now I’ll kill this one. I'll kill Tsatsu too.

QUEEN. You'll kill the...

KING. Yes, now I'll kill the tsatsu. And her too, if everything works out as it should. And her too, and it will always be like this... Always someone somewhere someday someone... Always like this... Not this one, then the other one, if not that one, then this one again, and so always - decisively, majestically - with aplomb, confidently. Instill fear, and then... (To the Chamberlain.) Give me some water. (Drinks.) Yes, I’m getting old... the years aren’t the same anymore...

QUEEN. I will not let! Ignacy, I won't allow it!

KING. You allow it, mother, you allow it... you allow it, you allow yourself too. Everyone allows themselves something and therefore should allow others...

YVONNE enters, seeing those present, wants to return, but does not dare and goes into her room. From now on, everyone speaks in a low voice.

QUEEN. Ignatius, I do not give consent, I do not want, I do not allow, Ignatius!

CHAMBERLAIN. For God's sake, be quiet!

KING. Shut up, stupid. The job will be done... Do you think I will sneak up on her on the sly, like you... No, I will openly, with arrogance, kill her - haughtily, with chic, majestically - and everything will look so stupid that no one will even guess . Ha-ha, Margarita, you need to kill from above, you can’t kill on the sly. First of all, wash your face, otherwise you look like crazy. And, secondly, take care of the banquet that we are organizing today - it’s time... And don’t forget - order crucian carp for an appetizer. I like to eat crucian carp, crucian carp in sour cream. Good fish. Sophisticated.

QUEEN. Crucian carp? Crucian carp? (To the Chamberlain, joyfully.) Yes, he's gone crazy! Thank God I'm crazy!

KING. Shut up, I'm out of my mind. Give me the crucian carp.

CHAMBER (to the Queen). Your Majesty, crucian carp in sour cream is a wonderful appetizer. I don’t see any reasons that would prevent us from serving crucian carp.

QUEEN. There will be no crucians! Ignacy, don’t drive me crazy, I won’t serve any crucian carp. What kind of fantasy are these crucian carp? I’m telling you, there won’t be any crucian carp, why are there crucian carp all of a sudden, why are there any crucian carp right now? There will be no crucians!

KING. What kind of whims are these? (To the Chamberlain.) Give me the crown. I'll show you.

The chamberlain hands over the crown.

QUEEN. Ignatius, what is this for? Take off the crown - Ignatius, why?! Ignatius?!

KING. Margarita, since I told you to serve the crucian carp, then tell me to serve them. And don’t argue, otherwise you’ll get it from me... but I can, if I want, I can, because I have a lot of sins - I can do anything, wife, tremble before me that I have sins! I am the king of sins, you understand, the king of stupidity, sins, lawlessness, groaning!

QUEEN (astonished). Ignatius!

KING (calming down). Well, well, well... Order the crucian carp. And invite the highest dignitaries, the most sophisticated, the most experienced, from those practitioners who know how to instill fear and paralyze a person like a hundred thousand devils. (Quietly.) Margarita, leave your timidity, bashfulness, do you understand all your fears? And enough of this poetry, flexibility, viburnums, mountain ash... You are no longer a primrose, you are a lady, a queen, well, well. It’s not you who should bend, let them bend in front of you - well, well. Wash yourself, you slob, you look like a scarecrow. Put on a brocade dress - show, mother, what you can do! Come on! Get ready, demonstrate all your elegance, grace, dignity, tact, manners, that’s why I’m keeping you, and order your scoundrels to also dress up in what they can. Well, well, go - do you understand everything? And so that it would be solemn! The reception should be festive, with ladies, not disheveled ones. Invite the guests and have them set the tables, and don’t let your head hurt about the rest, I’ll take care of the rest myself! Arrogantly, haughtily - majestic! Go, go, cook! (The Queen, who was covering her face with her hands at the end of the King’s monologue, leaves.) The Chamberlain...

CHAMBERLAIN. Your Majesty?

KING (quieter, gloomily). Bow to me... I want you to bow to me...

CHAMBER (listening). Someone is coming.

KING (hard). Then we'll hide.

They hide behind the couch. Stealthily, they enter: A PRINCE with a knife in his hand, followed by KIRILL with a basket.

PRINCE. Where did she go?

KIRILL (looking through the door at the back of the set). Shhh. She is here.

PRINCE. What is he doing?

KIRILL. Catches flies.

PRINCE. And how did you catch it?

KIRILL. Yawns.

PRINCE (clutching a knife in his hand). Well, then let's try... One, two, three... Check if anyone is coming, get the basket ready...

Kirill opens the basket, the Prince sneaks up to the door.

KING (to the side, to the Chamberlain). Oh, so is my son too!..

KIRILL (looks from the side at the Prince). Philip, don't - stop it! Philip, I'll make some noise now!

PRINCE. Nervous?

KIRILL. Simply unimaginable! You with a knife, sneaking towards this little bastard! (Bursts into quiet laughter.) Nothing will come of this - no, it won’t work!.. Kill? Kill this one?!.. And also this basket! Also a basket!

PRINCE. Stop it! (Puts down the knife.) The basket is needed for technical reasons.

KIRILL. You yourself don’t understand what you’re doing - you don’t see yourself from the outside.

PRINCE. Stop it, finally!

KIRILL (looking in). Falls asleep. I think I fell asleep...

PRINCE. Did you fall asleep?

KIRILL. Shhh. It's like... He's nodding off... On the chair...

PRINCE (looking in). Now or never! If it’s now, it won’t hurt... Come on, try it!

KIRILL. I?

PRINCE. It’s easier for you - you are a stranger to her, you are on equal terms with her, you are not the object of her adoration, she does not love you. Kirill, do this for me. Just a moment... After all, it’s like an operation, a procedure - she won’t feel it. She won’t know anything, and remember, the very moment you do this, she will cease to exist, everything will happen apart from her, it’s easy - only we will act, unilaterally, this will not affect her at all...

KIRILL. The easier it is, the more difficult it is, on the contrary. (Takes a knife.)

PRINCE. No no no!

KIRILL. No?

PRINCE. It looks like you're about to slaughter a chicken.

KIRILL. Isn't it possible? After all, it would seem possible, but it turns out it’s impossible. What the hell is this? Probably because she is too sick and weakened. That would be a fat, ruddy woman, but she is pale... She doesn’t raise her hand to the pale one...

PRINCE. Someone's watching here.

KIRILL. This is what I'm watching.

PRINCE. No, someone is looking at us - someone sees everything.

KIRILL. This is what I see.

PRINCE. Yes, you look at me, I look at you. Go away, I'd rather do it myself. I'll do everything myself. Just a procedure, albeit a monstrous one, but a procedure. I prefer to be monstrous for one moment than for the rest of my life. Stand outside the door, I’ll do it myself... (Kirill goes out.) By myself. For her, this will be deliverance... The end of all her suffering - and mine too... This is an expedient procedure, expedient... Hm... (Looks around, takes the knife, puts it down again.) Kirill!

KING (to the side, very excitedly). Uh-oh, bungler!

KIRILL. What's happened? (Comes back.)

PRINCE. Alone is even worse. A person, when he is alone, begins to burst, he grows... to size... (Listens.) What is this?

KIRILL. Breathing. (Both listen.)

PRINCE. Breathing... (Looks through the door.) Yes! That's how she breathes - that's how she lives there in her gut - up to her ears in herself... immersed, withdrawn into herself... No, nothing will work out... (Takes a knife.) It would seem to be stabbed into the body... But how difficult it is... I feel a terrible lightness, but it is in this lightness that the terrible difficulty lies.

ISA enters.

ISA (seeing the knife). What is this? (Looks through the door.) Murder?

PRINCE and KIRILL. Shh...

ISA. Murder... Do you want to become a murderer?

PRINCE. Shut up! Don't interfere! Here I settle my personal affairs. When I settle it, I'll come. Get out of here!

ISA. Are you here too? And are you involved in this?

KIRILL. Nonsense! Philip, let's get out of here, this is all nonsense! Let's leave this idea!

KING (aside). Nonsense! Be brave!

ISA. Let's get out of here!

PRINCE (looks in). Sleeping.

ISA. And let him sleep. What do you care if she's sleeping? Philip, I will sleep too... tonight.

PRINCE. Quiet. Sighed!

ISA. Philip, and I will sigh... tonight. Stop paying her so much attention. Because I'm here! Stop messing with her, stop killing her... Let's go.

PRINCE. She is dreaming about something. I wonder what?

ISA. Let him dream. I'd rather tell you what I dreamed. In a dream I saw you. Let's go to.

PRINCE. And she’s probably dreaming about us! She sees us in her dreams! Me, you. We are there, inside.

ISA. Where? What's it like inside?

PRINCE. Well, in her gut. Can you hear how hard she sleeps? How does he sigh painfully? How painfully she works inside herself, how there, inside, we are immersed in her, and how she does with us whatever she pleases; I wonder what she does to us there, how she takes it out on us...

ISA. Are you talking like crazy again? Can't you stop?

PRINCE (still in a whisper). I am normal, but I cannot remain normal if someone else is abnormal. Okay, I’ll be normal, and you’ll be normal too, so what if someone else, abnormal, plays along with us, the normal ones, on such a small pipe, tra-la-la - and we’ll dance to it , and we will dance...

ISA. Philip, are you saying this after what happened between us last night?

PRINCE (listening). Snores.

PRINCE. Snores.

ISA. No, you are overstepping the bounds of decency.

KING (aside). Steps over! Well, go ahead! Let him step over. Wow! Wow! Step over!

PRINCE (unwittingly answering the King). I am unable to move over. But what is it? Who said that? What's going on in this room? Look how wild everything looks here - all this furniture. (He kicks the chair.)

KING. Wild! Wow! Wow!

CHAMBERLAIN. Shh!

KIRILL. Either we’ll finally kill her, or let’s get out of here, I can’t stand like this anymore, with this basket, I’d better leave, or run away altogether. I'll run away from the castle. I can't hang around here like a third wheel any longer - I can't.

PRINCE. I have to step over! Must!

KING. Be brave!

ISA. Kiss Me. (To Kirill.) Let him kiss me.

PRINCE (listening). Yawned!

ISA. Enough. I'm leaving.

KIRILL. Prince, kiss her. Damn it, do something to get him to kiss you. Let him kiss you!

KING. Let him kiss! Wow, wow! Be brave!

CHAMBERLAIN. Shh!

ISA. I don't intend to beg for kisses. I don’t want to stand indefinitely with a stupid basket and a knife under this unfortunate woman’s door. Enough. I'm leaving forever. Enough for me.

PRINCE. Do not leave me! Isa, I will kiss you. Wait!

ISA (pushes the Prince away). Don't want! Please let me go! I don’t want it here, by order, under the door, completely pointless, with this basket, with this knife. How can you kiss here? Leave me.

KING (remaining behind the couch). That's it! Forward! Let's!

PRINCE. Keep your cool. First of all - composure, otherwise we will all go completely crazy. Be quiet, otherwise she will wake up... Iza, wait, don’t be so harsh. I can't lose you. Don't react to all this absurdity. Yes, I agree, a kiss in these circumstances is meaningless, and yet we will kiss, no matter what, we will kiss as if it were completely natural... For God's sake, if we cannot remain normal, then at least we will pretend that we are normal, otherwise we won’t get out of here. And I see no other way out but a kiss, perhaps it will return us to normal, give us the strength to escape from this place. (Hugs her.) I love you. Say that you love me. Do you love me!

ISA. I will not say! I won't tell you for anything! Let me go...

PRINCE. She loves Me! And I love her!

YVONNE appears at the door, rubbing her eyes. The KING, in great excitement, leans out from behind the couch, and the CHAMBER tries to restrain him.

KING. So her!

ISA. Philip!

PRINCE (ardently, passionately). Philip! Philip!.. I love you!

KIRILL. Philip, she's awake!

KING (loudly). Okay, Philip, well done! Serves her right! Don't give up! Death to her! Grab her! Grab the tsatsu!

CHAMBERLAIN. Stop His Majesty.

ISA. Let's run away from here.

KING. Do not scream! Get me out of here. (Climbs out with difficulty.) All stiff. The old bones are numb. (To the Prince.) Move! Move! Grab her! Bunglers! Now we will finish her off! Grab her, I say! Well, Philip, Chamberlain, I’ll come from the other side! Take it, sweetie!

The QUEEN enters in a ballgown, footmen bring in the tables set for dinner, and behind them the guests bring in the lighting.

Stop! Nothing will work like that! Forgot about crucian carp! She must be looked down upon! From above, not from below! With dignity, majestic! Take aback, and then... Forward! Get to work, Margarita! Forward! (To the guests.) Please!.. Please!.. Come in, gentlemen! Philip, straighten your collar, smooth your hair... haughtily, with dignity, my son! Grab it! (To the Chamberlain.) Give me the crown.

PRINCE. What's going on here?

CHAMBERLAIN. Nothing special, just dinner!

KING (to the guests). We warmly welcome you! Please, welcome.

GUESTS. Ah-ah-ah! (Bow.) Your Majesty!

QUEEN. Please. Welcome!

GUESTS. Your Majesty! (They bow.)

KING (to the guests). Get to work! Come on! Grab it! And from above, gentlemen, with superiority, chamberlain, offer everyone a place according to their title and let the more worthy hurt the less worthy, and the less worthy - the more worthy, that is, I wanted to say, let the more worthy experience a feeling of legitimate pride at the sight of the less worthy, and let the less worthy receive from the more worthy the incentive and desire for ever more fruitful efforts in noble competition. And seat my future daughter-in-law opposite us, because today’s reception was organized in her honor.

GUESTS. Ah-ah-ah! (They bow.)

QUEEN. But, regardless of place in the hierarchy of places, let everyone bloom with the magnificent color of his entire being under the sun of our benevolence. Let the ladies show what they are capable of, and let the gentlemen show the ladies! With brilliance, gentlemen, with chic, elegant, bright and sophisticated!

KING. Yes, yes - grab... that is, that... Forward! Take your seats!

GUESTS. Ah-ah-ah! (They bow.)

The King and Queen sit down.

CHAMBER (to Yvonne). Please, mademoiselle, sit down.

YVONNE does not move, the CHAMBER coldly continues.

Please, sit down... (Seats Yvonne.) And here the prince will sit... I ask you, prince... And here is their Excellency, here is their Eminence, here is their Excellency the Countess, and here is our magnificent, our priceless, our exquisite ... (Lets some old man down, breaking into a smile.) Ay-ay-ay!

KING. As I already said, we arranged this modest but elegant dinner for death, that is, or rather, in honor of our future daughter-in-law, and today we decided to honor her with the title of Princess of Burgundy in partibus infidelium. So, she is the heroine of today's feast. Look how sweet she smiles.

GUESTS. Ah-ah-ah! (Mild applause.)

KING (starts to take food). A little bony, lousy, but tasty... The fish, I wanted to say, this one... hm... (Places the fish on the plate.)

QUEEN (serving food). A little old, but in this sauce it looks decent, and dignity, I must admit, is much closer to me than what is usually bashfully called poetry. Perhaps I’m not sentimental, but (with arrogance) I can’t stand anything that even remotely reminds me of viburnum or rowan. I am closer to older women, ladies in the true meaning of the word!

GUESTS. Ah-ah-ah!

CHAMBER (serving food). The fish is modest in appearance, but in principle, in its very essence, it is unusually, simply incredibly aristocratic; suffice it to say that its bones are extremely thin! And what a great sauce! It looks like sour cream, but at the same time it is immeasurably thinner and more refined than sour cream! And what a taste - sharp, piquant, spectacular, paradoxical! I am sure that all those present will appreciate it accordingly, since such a refined society has never gathered around this table!

GUESTS. Ah-ah-ah!

KING (to Yvonne). What is it - it doesn’t taste good to us? (Threateningly.) Don't like it?

CHAMBERLAIN. What's wrong with you, mademoiselle, no appetite?

GUESTS (upset). ABOUT!

YVONNE (starts to eat).

KING (to Yvonne, gloomily). Just eat carefully, otherwise you might choke! Crucian carp, it only looks like it’s nothing special, but in reality...

CHAMBER (to Yvonne). His Majesty was pleased to note that you should be careful while eating, otherwise you might choke. (Sharply.) The danger is great! This is a difficult fish!

KING (threateningly). The fish is dangerous, I tell you!

GUESTS (in amazement). Oh! (Everyone stops eating, silence.)

QUEEN (with dignity). Eh bien, Ivonne, vous ne manges pas, ma chere?

CHAMBER (inserts a monocle into his eye). Neglect? Are you neglecting His Majesty's crucian carp?

KING (threateningly). What's happened?!

YVONNE (begins to eat alone).

KING (stands up, points threateningly at Yvonne). I choked! I choked! Bone! She has a bone in her throat!! Bone, I tell you! Well!!!

YVONNE (chokes).

GUESTS (startled, jump up from their seats). Save! Water! Tap on the back!

QUEEN (astonished). Save!

GUESTS. Oh, unfortunate one! What a disaster! Catastrophe! Dead body! She died! Let's not interfere! (Everyone leaves, leaving the body in sight.)

PRINCE. Died?

CHAMBERLAIN. I choked on a bone.

PRINCE. Oh! Bone. It seems she really died.

Silence.

QUEEN (nervous, as if a little ashamed). Ignatius, you will need to take care of mourning. You don't have a black suit. You have gained weight, all your suits have become too small.

KING. How come there is no suit? If I order it, it will be.

QUEEN. Yes, but we need to send for a tailor.

KING (surprised). To the tailor? Yes, that's right... (Rubs his eyes.) That's right, tailor Solomon, men's conference... (Looks at Yvonne.) What? Died? Seriously?

QUEEN (after a pause). We'll all die!

KING (after a pause). Yes, do something. We need to do something about this. To say something. Somehow break this silence! Philip... that... take heart. There's nothing to be done - she died.

QUEEN (pats the Prince on the head). Your mother will not leave you, my son.

PRINCE. What are you saying?

CHAMBER (to the servants). Come here, you need to take her out and put her on the bed for now. Let one of you run away and get everything ready. And call Petrashek immediately. Someone should run to Petrashek's funeral home now, we can't do it without Petrashek. Call Petrashek urgently, this is the most important thing. (The servants approach the body.) Just a minute, I'll kneel. (Does it.)

KING. Yes, that's right... (Kneels down.) He's right. You have to get on your knees.

Everyone kneels down except the Prince.

In fact, this should have been done immediately.

PRINCE. I'm sorry. How so?

CHAMBERLAIN. What? (The Prince falls silent.) Please kneel down.

QUEEN. Get on your knees, Philip. This must be done, my son. This is what decency demands.

KING. Faster! You can't stand alone when we're all on our knees.

The prince kneels down.

It is advisable to emphasize the following features of the play as clearly as possible:

1. All elements of grotesque and humor, neutralizing the painful situation underlying the play, without, however, losing the psychological realism and naturalness of the characters and the entire action.

2. Ease and freedom of text. The play should not be played too seriously.

3. Full awareness of the characters’ actions. The strangest scenes must be played realistically. The characters in the play are absolutely normal people who just found themselves in an abnormal situation. Their surprise, uncertainty, and sense of shame in the face of these situations should be emphasized in accordance with the text. Costumes are modern, at least with some fantasy elements (for example, a king in a jacket and a crown, etc.). The scenery is better naturalistic. The last act requires complex lighting effects. The last scenes (banquet) may have the character of a dream, unreality - after which awakening occurs.

1 How ugly! (French).

2 Only in name, nominally (lat.)

3 Yvonne, aren't you eating, dear? (French)

The population of the stalls after the intermission is renewed by more than half - the “dear” audience begins to run away long before the break, but during the intermission students come down “from the mountains” and as a result the hall remains filled to the end, and there is someone to clap at the bows, despite the same as before This is the case with Nyakrosius, with Ostermeier, with Lepage, not to mention Wilson, the premiere of Yazhyna at the Theater of Nations is simply impossible to compare with those of his works that were brought to Moscow from Poland. Yazhin showed an excellent performance, and then even more surprising, since the original source is outdated and raises many questions, a modern theatrical version by Pier Paolo Pasolini.

“Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy,” like “Macbeth” by Jan Klyaty at the Moscow Art Theater, like another “Macbeth” by Krzysztof Garbaczewski from Alexandrinka, is a third-rate European theater for export. In the case of Yazhina, unlike Klyata, it is also, I must admit with regret, unbearably dreary, sometimes deadly boring. At the same time, and this is more important for me than the tediousness of the spectacle, the heaviness of the action, it is Yażyna’s “Yvonne” that is perhaps, if not the most successful, then certainly the most meaningful of the six (!!!) productions of Gombrowicz’s first play that I happened to see at Moscow venues over the last ten years: Safonov (at the TsIM), Urnov (by the way, at the Theater of Nations too, but before the arrival of Mironov), Levinsky (at the Hermitage), Lavrenchuk (at the Polish Theater in Moscow) and Mirzoev (at Theater named after E. Vakhtangov). I’m only taking those that I’ve seen myself, because there are even more of them (for example, the Cherry Orchard shopping center has its own “Yvonne”, called “Crucian carp in sour cream” - I haven’t seen it and I’m unlikely to ever get there ).

Yazhina perceives Gombrowicz’s early, almost “puppet” play not as a flat anti-totalitarian pamphlet, but also does not turn it into a primitive parable about holiness and sacrifice. In general, his performance, of all the alternative, so far realized Moscow versions of “Yvonne...”, reveals similarities only with the semi-amateur, but in its own way entertaining (and not boring, unlike others) in the so-called. “Polish Theater in Moscow” - there, performers of varying degrees of professionalism played Gombrowicz in Polish, a non-native language for most Muscovite studio students, in a format close to performance, in the spirit of a futuristic dystopia and... without Yvonne, or rather, with a rubber doll, an inflatable woman, replacing her , but.. with Igor Nevedrov in the role of King Ignatius, where I saw Nevedrov for the first time.

Yażyna’s scenes of the play are interrupted by English-language, recorded on a phonogram and with translation through monitors stage directions (co-author of the stage version - Szczepan Orlovski, voice of the narrator - Emma Dallow), where Salvador Allende and Julian Assange are mentioned, the title of the film “Minority Report” arises in connection with the idea “crime prevention”, some fantastic story is voiced about an attempt to manage the economy using a computer in Chile in the early 1970s and the penetration of self-censorship on the Internet, caused by the voluntary desire of social network users to share the opinion of the majority - frankly, this speculative nonsense is not only optional, but also routine, banal (especially in its ritual anti-American message - I wonder where Yazhina would be today without the USA? Would he stage pioneer matinees in the house of culture for Lenin’s anniversary? Or would he drink himself under a bridge in Paris? In any case, the use of such techniques in Russian-language, Moscow production today is not only vulgar, but also foul), it does not add anything meaningful to the performance, but, however, it fulfills its rhythmic function as a structural element of the composition, and also distracts attention while the installers rearrange the “scenery” consisting of abstract hollow cubes and trapezoids, a giant cut of a “metal” pipe, placed in a gray enclosure, the inner surface of which also serves as a screen for computer installations. On the other hand, the first picture, where Philip and his friends meet Yvonne for the first time and then, when the prince introduces the dirty little girl to his crowned parents, is solved, despite all the grotesqueness of the external image of the characters (costumes, the queen’s hairstyle, the plastic mask on the Chamberlain’s face), quite traditionally, stylishly , but predictable. And from the second picture, in addition to the mentioned English-language remarks (with quotes provoking a variety of associations, such as the Chinese proverb “kill a chicken to scare a monkey”), real, albeit quite moderate in the degree of radicalism, “cyberpunk” begins.

Well, yes, technical details are, of course, an important aspect of the project, but still, unlike most of the previous Moscow “Yvonne...”, the current one gives some reason to talk about the play and performance on its merits. The heroine of Daria Ursulyak, and this is perhaps the most important point, is not ugly or dirty, as she can easily be imagined from the description and the inertia of perception of the play through previous director’s interpretations. Yvonne here is an autistic androgyne in something like overalls, boots, and a short “typhoid” haircut; she, of course, is not a beauty in relation to the “glamorous” society maidens of the “court”, but it is difficult to mistake her for a fearful person, for a homeless person, or for a patient, which he insisted on in his version, and in two casts he offered a choice of clearly different diagnoses , even more so. For the royal family, for the prince, for his entourage, for the father-king and mother-queen, Yvonne, who strayed to the court by Philip’s whim, is an object of manipulation, and in this case, not only moral bullying, but also very specific physical violence. However, very soon the manipulators themselves become dependent on her, thanks to Yvonne’s presence they cease to control themselves, their old sins come to light... - all this, in general, is according to the play, according to the plot, but so far this “changeover” has not been seen in any production "wasn't read so clearly. Having subjected Yvonne to a kind of socio-psychological experiment, the would-be experimenters themselves become victims of it, turn into experimental animals, lose control over what is happening and over themselves, and cannot stand the test.

It may not be very original, but the play's characters are interestingly presented in the play, and the actors work to the limit of dedication. First of all, the performers of the main roles: Daria Ursulyak’s Yvonne is both simple in her defenselessness and mysterious, incomprehensible; Mikhail Troynik, who usually plays the role of brutally boorish, turned out to be Prince Philip unexpectedly sophisticated, in some sense vulnerable (the actor is sometimes simply unrecognizable). The tall and skinny Chamberlain in a long robe and a plastic mask is the sinister character of Sergei Epishev. Whereas Philip’s friends are rather comic figures, especially Cyprian-Ego Kovalev, and to a lesser extent Kirill-Kirill Byrkin (their passionate kiss with Philip-Troynik at the end of the first act finally finishes off the stalls spectator, so that after the break it’s completely in their place different audience, but it’s for the better). Coping with the task, portraying a semblance of a “cyborg”, Igor Sharoiko-Valentin, mechanically wandering from corner to corner of the site. It’s more difficult for older actors than others, no matter how hard Agrippina Steklova and Alexander Feklistov try, but talent, skill and a certain looseness still do not allow them to fully comply with the rules of the game proposed by the director, where internal dispassion and calmness are necessary despite the external grotesqueness of the drawing - Steklov then and the matter breaks through to open emotion, here, in my opinion, inappropriate.

Alena Karas

Alien vs Predators

"Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy" by Grzegorz Jarzyny at the Theater of Nations

The poster shows an African face, by which gender is as difficult to identify as age. One of those “savage” faces that were destroyed throughout European history. Witold Gombrowicz, who grew up in a wealthy Polish estate XIX century, was sensitive to social inequality, to those who were not included in the canon of the beautiful gentry of Poland. Therefore, his play “Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy,” written in 1938, a year before the World War, turned out to be prophetic - it explores the mechanism of destruction of the Other. First - within yourself, then - outside of yourself. First - as endless self-censorship, then - as total censorship in relation to every Other.

"Yvonne" is a philosophical parable, despite high level allegories, quite clearly, however, correlated with the cruel political context of its time. Grzegorz Jarzyna not only ignores this context, but sharply draws her into the present. He needs the tension of those meanings that Gombrowicz's play attracts at the beginning of the 21st century - although Yvonne, wearing sensors on her head that scan her brain, resembles a victim of Dr. Mengele's experiments.

The stunning space, pulsating with the most complex video and acoustic vibrations, enters consciousness as a living organism, like Yvonne herself, fearlessly and accurately played by Daria Ursulyak. Actually, Jarzyna, together with Piotr Lakomy (set design), Jacek Grudzen (music), Felis Ross (lighting), Marta Nawrot (video), Andrey Borisov (sound) and Anna Nykowska (costumes), literally pumped up the entire stage “body” with the attraction of Yvonne, embodied her defiant silence, which constitutes the main secret of the play. It includes the public according to the principle of the same mechanism as described by Prince Philip: “If she loves me, then I... then I am therefore loved by her... I exist in her. She enclosed me within herself... Ah, because I, in fact, always believed that I existed only here, on my own, in myself - and then immediately - bam! She caught me - and I found myself trapped in her!”

The performance is designed in such a way that we all find ourselves trapped in it. Jarzyna invented a technology that coincides with the main theme of Gombrowicz’s play: invisible sensors along the wings make the entire stage field vibrate, which literally becomes like an electromagnetic field - every movement of the actors produces sound, extracts sounds from space. It’s hard to guess, but the magic of the rising and falling sound, the video pulsation of color filling the screen, implicitly depending on the movement of bodies on the stage, affects the subconscious of the audience, who find themselves in the same confusion in relation to Yvonne’s radical silence as the similar insensitive cyborg Prince Philip (Mikhail Troynik). Yvonne, by the way, appears on the stage, dressed in something like overalls or a stage setter's costume - one of those who, always invisible, allows the celebration of the performance to take place.

Only in the second act, when the silent Yvonne begins to talk about herself with the help of a theremin - an electric instrument created in 1920 by Lev Theremin, reacting to the slightest vibrations and extracting music literally from thin air - do we begin to guess that the entire stage box was such a theremin. A zone in which silence sounds, or the subconscious itself, repressed, right according to Lacan, by the repressive machine of language. The previously hidden mechanism in the wings is localized on stage as an instrument from which Yvonne extracts music as total as her entire androgynous being with huge eyes and a cap of cropped white hair.

The totality of her presence in the middle of the cyber desert is the theme of the play, whose society is made up of shell-simulacra. Here, the ladies of the court wear hats fused to their heads, the Chamberlain (Sergei Epishev) has a completely overgrown face with a transparent mask, a silicone layer between man and the world, and Queen Margarita (Agrippina Steklova), in a nightly hysterical impulse of revelation, is exposed to silicone nudity, revealing under her clothes a sanctimonious body-mask, a shell of the same silicone soul. The king (Alexander Feklistov) does not need a mask at all - there, along with the crown, shorts and a T-shirt have grown to his body: not a ruler, but a hunted man in the street, most of all afraid of himself.

Yażyna’s reading of “Yvonne” clearly resonates with Lacan’s concept of language structured as the unconscious, where contact with oneself becomes increasingly difficult as the subject develops culturally. The direction aggravates this theme, bringing it almost to the point of parody. The text space of the performance is expanded due to interludes read by the announcer's voice in the clearest English language(co-author of the stage version of Jarzyna - Szczepan Orlowski) and dedicated to how the system - language, politics, cybernetics, censorship - turns the individual into the mass. This voice is in a language that is as much a part global peace, like cyberspace, describes an experiment: subjects, obeying the majority, call white black. The inability to make independent judgment seems like a harmless quality until people like Yvonne become its mass victims.

“Control is not carried out from the outside, it is built into the infrastructure,” the Englishwoman tells us, as we glance at the cylindrical, cubic and human figures on which Yvonne’s silence has a subtle but powerful effect, forcing, like ultrasound, to commit the most eccentric and cruel actions. "Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, the journalistic non-profit organization, describes self-censorship built on fear as a pyramid... Remember when you last time wanted to say something and changed your mind because of the possible consequences? Self-censorship guides our every action, and we don’t even notice. The truth is that we are living a lie."

This manifesto of Yażyna, sounding on its own, would have caused nothing but boredom if it had not been embedded in the text of Gombrowicz, whose political parody borders on psychoanalysis, drawing our entire mental and rational nature into a process of self-reflection.

Twenty years ago, Yażyna had already staged Yvonne, and then in Gombrowicz’s play he was interested in the intimate, deep side of human relationships. Today, the director's interest has shifted to where there are no longer relationships, but there are communications. Where the inexpressibility of inner experience has long been trapped in the System.

Having received an invitation from the Theater of Nations, the director and artistic director TR Warszawa, it seems, gladly included in the context of the performance the very bourgeois respectability of the most brilliant theatrical venue in the Russian capital, the premieres of which are always marked by a special atmosphere of chic. In a pre-premiere interview with COLTA.RU, the director directly noted that he hopes for a recognition effect: “What they [the audience] will think during and after the performance is very important to me. Gombrowicz’s play is also about court life, so here we are building something like a mirror.”

The mirror is the most important motif in “Yvonne,” directly borrowed from “Hamlet,” with an eye on which Gombrowicz’s philosophical parable was written. Bilious attacks against bourgeois democracy with silicone masks of equality, tolerance and social responsibility, where Prince Philip's intention to marry a commoner with obvious signs of autism is perceived first as a strange joke, then as a populist game and, finally, as a disaster for the regime - all this is addressed to us no less than in those days of 1938 when the play was written.

But is it only in front of the public that has financial influence and power that Yazhin sets up this mirror? “Yvonne” plays with much more complex reflections, drawing our entire being into its “body politic.” Baroque chords wedding ceremony, a huge table, a screen filled with pink flowers and the very space of the stage, the white feathers and crinoline silks of the bride, making her look like a sacrificial lamb... Fear of the Other, nesting in the depths of any violence, kills Yvonne quietly - with a small carp bone. She falls onto the table, transforming from the living person she never was for them into a pile of white skirts, stained with the pinkish color of her anemic blood...

P.S. Since large-scale touring projects of the Polish theater in Moscow stopped several years ago, and some major directors led by Krystian Lupa refused to come to Russia with their performances for political reasons, the mutual isolation of the two theatrical worlds seemed inevitable. The change of government in Poland also did not seem to contribute to active contacts in the field of theater. But here long-term mechanisms of mutual attraction came into play: a series of lectures, exhibitions and video screenings began, and then productions by Polish authors, little known to us or not staged at all before. Instead of high-profile tours, Russian and Polish theaters are beginning to cooperate at the level of deeper creative exchanges. And the fact that after “Yvonne”, created in co-production with TR Warszawa, several performances based on the plays of Witold Gombrowicz will appear in Russia one after another - in the St. Petersburg Theater named after. Lensovet, the young director Beniamin Kots is staging “The Wedding”, the same play is being rehearsed at the Moscow School of Dramatic Art by Elena Nevezhina - perhaps it will allow us to better understand the author, so in tune with our time.

Kommersant, October 19, 2016

Game of Rejections

"Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy" at the Theater of Nations

The 11th TERRITORIYA festival opened with the premiere of the Theater of Nations "Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy". This is the first production by Polish director Grzegorz Jarzyna in Russia, created with the support of the Polish Cultural Center and the Mickiewicz Institute. ALLA SHENDEROVA reports.

"The weather was beautiful, the princess was terrible" - in brief retelling the beginning of Witold Gombrowicz's play could literally sound like this. The royal family walks in the park, reasoning that looking at a beautiful sunset makes you a better person. Prince Philip sees ugly Yvonne, who is so “infinitely proud, tender and fearful” and infuriates him so much that he decides to marry her. The king and queen are shocked, but are ready to accept his choice: compassion for the sick and miserable also makes us better.

Anyone who is a little familiar with the history of literature will immediately remember not only Dostoevsky and Stavrogin, who married Lame Leg, but also “Princess Malene” by Maurice Maeterlinck, upon hearing the text of “Yvonne” (Yury Chainikov’s translation is used in the play). And he will be right. In 1889, the symbolist Maeterlinck came up with a princess with a “green face and white eyelashes”, doomed to become a victim - Witold Gombrowicz clearly borrowed this decadent image, deciding to understand why society not only makes outcasts, but kills such princesses.

“Yvonne” was written in 1938, when Freud had already said everything (it was with Freud that writer Bruno Schulz compared Gombrowicz), and the Germans were preparing to swallow Poland. Gombrowicz understood what fascism was before anyone else and left Poland a few days before the occupation, lived in Argentina during the war, and then returned not to socialist Poland, but to France. In Poland, his books were banned until the late 1950s.

A student of Krystian Lupa, the director of the TR Warsaw theater, one of the most talented radicals of the Polish stage, Grzegorz Jarzyna already staged “Yvonne” at the beginning of his career - almost 20 years ago. Today he returned to it, trying to figure out what kind of instinct makes us fear those who are different from us. As a result, he succeeded in something that is often talked about, but which in reality is extremely rare: “Yvonne” by the Theater of Nations - a performance in which reflections on eternal themes are presented in the form of modern art.

The director called in a strong team of artists to help him. Petr Lakomy, for example, has never worked in the theater before and insists that he did not create scenography, but rather space. But when you watch the performance, there is no feeling that good, precise actors are struggling to fit into the environment of radical art that is alien to them. The space continues and reflects what they are playing. The cubes, cylinders, and blocks among which Gombrowicz's heroes wander attract attention not because they resemble the compositions of the Suprematists. They are as simple in appearance, but essentially inexplicable, as the nooks and crannies of our consciousness.

“She devours me with her gaze... She’s simply shameless... Take a poker and heat it white...” suggests the handsome prince (Mikhail Troinik), unable to contain his painful voluptuousness. "But Philip!" - his friends besiege him. The encephalogram of the brain that they give to Yvonne, tied hand and foot, is projected onto the walls. When King Ignatius (Alexander Feklistov), ​​wanting to joke with his daughter-in-law, brings her to a fit, alarming purple ripples go along the walls - a cardiogram of an exhausted soul hidden from everyone. The black and white luminous ball deflates as the queen (Agrippina Steklova) loses the desire, if not to talk, then at least to feed the savage.

Gombrowicz doesn't fully reveal who Yvonne is, and neither does the director. He does not, like the prince, experiment on a strange, clearly intelligent girl, who, in the almost wordless but vivid performance of Daria Ursulyak, has moments of liveliness and even passion. He tries to understand what she does to others. Why is it not enough for them to simply remove her out of sight, but they must kill her; why does the queen, looking at her, remember her mediocre poems hidden under the mattress. And she reminds the king and chamberlain (Sergei Epishev) of the seamstress whom they lured to “this very sofa” in the days of his dashing youth. “But that one was a thin brunette, and this one is a plump blonde,” the chamberlain clarifies, holding Yvonne while the king gives the frightened victim some kind of injection. Sadism, seasoned with palace etiquette, thickens in the air, coloring the walls with aesthetic video mapping (video author Marta Navrot).

The visual climax occurs in the wedding scene: huge roses appear on the walls (here are the flowers that were painted by the heroes of Alice in Wonderland, and glamor brought to the point of grotesquery - a technique of modern artists) and spread out in alarming bruises. Dressed in an exquisite white dress (costumes by Anna Nykovskaya), Yvonne suddenly turns out to be pretty. But he doesn’t want to sit down at the long table - everything is rushing about, escaping from the hands of the burly chamberlain. It is logical that it is he, monitoring the observance of etiquette, who offers the king a way to get rid of the poor thing - to serve bony fish to the table. He implements the plan, pushing everyone who wants to help away from the wheezing victim.

The role, precisely constructed by the director and beautifully played by Sergei Epishev, leads to a solution: we hate and want to get rid of everyone who breaks even the most meaningless but familiar rituals that replace our lives. But now Yvonne is frozen on the table, order is restored. The play features a farcical conversation about mourning, a tailor and a funeral home. It seems like the same in the play. But Prince Philip suddenly jumps up on the table, shouting to turn off the lights. Another second - and he seems to wrinkle into Yvonne’s pitiful smile.

RG, October 12, 2016

Zoya Apostolskaya

Stranger among your own

"Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy" was presented at the Theater of Nations

The Theater of Nations showed the second premiere of the season - the play "Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy" based on the play by Polish playwright and writer Witold Gombrowicz. This is a grotesque story about how Prince Philip (Mikhail Troynik) falls in love with an extremely silent girl, Yvonne (Daria Ursulyak). Her silence irritates everyone so much - including the king (Alexander Feklistov) and the queen (Agrippina Steklova) - that the princess simply needs to be gotten rid of.

The play was staged by director Grzegorz Jarzyna, invited from Poland. He had already reviewed his compatriot’s play many years ago, but since then he has revised his views on it. I threw away love relationships and left two simple and merciless thoughts: a person is afraid to be different - that’s it. Two - “others” are not accepted either by other people or by the system.

Yvonne is a stranger, she is not welcome. She is incomprehensible and annoying. You want to squeeze it out and destroy it - this is the instinctive desire of society. And recently, it has only become worse all over the world, says Grzegorz Jarzyna. And the topic of silence too - people began to express their opinions less often. The director verbalized this idea by inserting texts that are not in the play. They recalled the fear of being in the minority, types of self-censorship and total control over the means of communication.

Yvonne is almost incapable of communication and, therefore, almost impossible to control. This means that it needs to be eliminated, erased from the system. At the same time, Yvonne herself tries to monitor the situation - she invisibly finds herself where, according to the text of the play, she is not supposed to be. For example, she hears all the conspiracies against herself, knows how they plan to kill her. Hears the queen's speeches and poems. She takes off her clothes and finds herself in a latex suit that imitates a naked body. She feels that they are spying on her, which is why she feels naked.

Here all the characters are naked. They are exposed. They become obvious - under the gun of total silence. Yvonne, as interpreted by Grzegorz Jarzyna, is not a pathetic little scoundrel. Sometimes she seems like an androgynous creature - in overalls, with a very short, ruffled haircut. And she not only remains silent, but also tries to resist - at the table she spits out cream and throws pears. Knocks the recorder out of the researchers' hands. She is a creature worthy of study. And Prince Philip and his friends are studying it. They conduct experiments, recording everything with a camera and a voice recorder. They ask questions and test with Rorschach blots (a test by a Swiss psychiatrist, known since 1921: based on what an individual sees in a blot, the characteristics of his personality are determined).

Yvonne is silent, they tell her their associations, interpretations - and wait for a nod of the head. Over time, the symmetrical Rorschach spot will break in two and spread along the light meridian grid in different sides. It will become like continents on a map, like two worlds that are becoming further and further away from each other. Director Yazhina intensifies his bullying of Yvonne; it is no longer only moral, as with Witold Gombrowicz, but also physical. The very specific violence of the king over the princess - and the phrases that you can do whatever you want with her - reach another level and acquire some sophisticated meaning.

The stage designer of the performance was the artist Peter Lakomy - this is his debut on the theater stage. But the director wanted to avoid excessive theatricality, he wanted to collide the old text with the new art. Lakomy solves the space extremely succinctly. The scenery includes a hollow cylinder and a parallelepiped, which is disassembled into component fragments from scene to scene. Everything else is created by video projections and light.

Light here is a special story: it either sharpens the shadows, forcing them to live a separate life, or “muffles” everything around and makes reality dull. Interactive space is not just a fashion statement, it is visual evidence of how the system reacts to the actions of individuals. A special camera records the movements of the actors and changes the background - and now the light grid pulsates and twitches nervously. The sensors respond to movements around the stage - and now the actors themselves create the sound space, using the trajectory of movement to write the score of the performance.

A special role is given to the theremin - an electronic instrument that creates sound using an electric field (it was invented once, let me remind you, by Lev Theremin in Petrograd). It is controlled by hand waves - the theremin is sensitive to external stimuli and requires long exercises and absolute pitch. She needs a special approach - just like Yvonne herself. She plays on it - first she conveys her pain with her hands and body, then she connects her voice and tries to sing in unison. In a vacuum. The duet with the instrument turns out to be more sensitive than the people around.

To get rid of Yvonne, the family serves crucian carp for the festive table. They are bony, she is shy, and in the presence of guests she must certainly choke and die. The king and queen invite everyone to the table, saying “one-one”, as if checking the microphones. Bullying is like a holiday, murder is like a performance, getting rid of the other is like a triumph. Yvonne tries to escape three times - she knows exactly what will happen next. But escaping from the System is impossible; it is returned every time. And they force you to choke.

They put pressure on her - and she gags. Because every personality in itself is like a bone in the throat.

The New Times, October 17, 2016

Ksenia Larina

The Power of Silence

The "Territory" festival opened with a high-profile premiere: Pole Grzegorz Jarzyna staged "Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy" at the Theater of Nations

On the playbill there is a photograph of a dark-skinned girl with wild, animal fear frozen in her eyes.

Secret signs

Polish director Grzegorz Jarzyna is working with Russian artists on the Russian stage for the first time, although his name has been known to Russian theater people for a long time: Jarzyna is one of the leaders of modern European theater, a rebel and an intellectual who does not recognize any taboos in culture, professing a theater of bold ideas and open emotions. This is the third time he has turned to the famous text by the Polish philosopher and avant-garde artist Witold Gombrowicz: he staged his first “Yvonne” in his homeland in 1997, then composed the libretto for the opera of the same name and has now chosen this play for production in Moscow.

“Yvonne” has long become a classic - it is staged all over the world along with the absurdist dramas of Ionesco and Beckett, although it came to the Russian stage relatively recently and immediately became one of the most popular. “Yvonne” was staged by Vladimir Mirzoev at the Vakhtangov Theater, Alexey Levinsky at the Hermitage, Oleg Rybkin at the Novosibirsk Red Torch. And each time an amazingly enduring and modern text written in the late thirties last century, amazed us with new meanings and paradoxical accents, plunging us not even into today, but into tomorrow.

In the Theater of Nations, “Yvonne” is almost a dystopia, a gloomy, terrible warning, not even a warning, but an omen, the inevitability of which one can only come to terms with. The relevance of Yazhin’s play is emphasized by information blocks that abruptly burst into the fabric of the performance, when the dispassionate metallic voice of the announcer dumps on us sensational news from different spheres - new technologies, historical discoveries, social phenomena.

However, at some point, stage reality defeats the truth of life and outstrips it in terms of social and political urgency.

Gombrowicz's genius seems to have encrypted in "Yvonne" secret signs that appear like sympathetic ink in a certain atmosphere. Guess and recreate this atmosphere - here the main task director Yażyna - as a true theatrical thinker - certainly knew how to achieve this. But he could hardly have imagined what a significant role Russian reality would play in this search, the notorious “Russian soil”, which does not want to fit into the world context, but hysterically demands its own “special path.” Well, did they demand it? Receive.

Naked kings

But it turned out - about the power of silence, about the despair of muteness. Yvonne has almost no words, just a few mysterious remarks and a piercing, deafening scream that makes glass explode and stuff up your ears. Yvonne - a strange girl with a short haircut, in a shapeless baggy jumpsuit - will find herself in the very core of supreme power, where the reflective heir falls in love with her and, to annoy his parents, declares her his bride. Silent Yvonne, like a ghost, wanders through the palace chambers, irritating its inhabitants with her blissful appearance - either a madwoman or a saint. Yvonne does not bow or bend, she laughs at what within these walls evokes sacred awe, she gazes intently at what is not customary to gaze into, and never looks away, even if her hands are tied and she is threatened with a knife. This heartbreaking gaze of Yvonne burns out all their secret vices and hidden sins from the rulers, turning well-mannered, successful aristocratic people into disgusting, cowardly monsters. The masks fall along with the clothes - and by the end the kings literally find themselves naked, and even a sparkling crown hastily placed on their heads is unable to hide this disgusting nakedness.

Yvonne's silence destroyed what neither revolution nor uprising could defeat. It was silence that awakened reciprocal hatred, a passionate desire to kill the silent one, to deal with this damn silent creature that had brought into the light everything that was so carefully and, it seemed, hidden forever.

Yvonne is a loner, organically incapable of falsehood; she herself is a tuning fork, setting a pure note. That is why the rattling, croaking voices of the inhabitants of the royal palace, who have long lost their hearing, and with it the ability to distinguish truth from lies, virtue from vice, crime from duty, are so self-exposing. Yes, indeed, it all starts with the purity of the note taken, with the impossibility of lying. How can one not recall the famous formula of one of the most persistent dissidents, Andrei Sinyavsky, about “stylistic differences” with the authorities.

Throat of the Silent

Grzegorz Jarzyna brought with him his production team, which included, among others, costume designer Anna Nykowska (Anna is not only a regular collaborator of Jarzyna’s productions, but also his girlfriend) and the brilliant contemporary artist Piotr Lakomy (this is his debut as a set designer) .

The visual image of the performance is a self-sufficient art space, where the color scheme, light reflections, neon flashes, bizarre video installations are not the background for the characters, but their full partners, sometimes very aggressive, crushing the actors. And also a sound track that sounds almost continuously - sometimes a rustle, sometimes a siren, sometimes a pencil scribbling on paper, sometimes sudden music, sometimes a buzzing street crowd. And also the costumes of extraordinary complexity that transform the characters from scene to scene - costumes that you get rid of gradually, as if from rudiments and atavisms, in the form of torn sleeves, jackets bursting on the back, falling skirts and torn dresses.

The light on the stage is cloudy, scattered, viscous, like fog; the faces of the actors, usually ennobled by spotlights, here look ominous, almost losing their human features.

With all the richness and variety of staging techniques, "Yvonne" is a highly actor's performance in which there is not a single random assignment - even for supporting roles.

Yvonne Daria Ursulyak is an almost infernal creature, a girl from the star, radiating both goodness and danger. The plasticity of a wild animal is combined in it with languid female eroticism, the trusting smile of a child imperceptibly transforms into a devilish mockery. It’s as if neither her body, nor her eyes, nor her lips belong to her, as if someone is breaking her from the inside and is breaking out.

The royal couple performed by Alexander Feklistov and Agrippina Steklova is a triumph of permissiveness and absolute moral corruption, camouflaged as respectability and puritanism. They have to go through a very difficult path - from tyrants fed up and corrupted by power to the hunted old people, maddened by the fear of losing it all.

The romantic hero of the play, Prince Philip, was divided into parts by actor Mikhail Troynik, as rats are laid out in laboratories, and was horrified to discover that “blue blood” is no different from rat blood. What he took for integrity turned out to be pride, what he took for rebellion turned out to be cowardice, and what he took for courage turned out to be cowardice.

The split, which has grown into a ruthless war with oneself, with one’s true being, with one’s reflection, overtakes each participant in the drama. And the king rapes and kills again and again, pulling a latex glove over his hand like a condom, and the secret vice of lust tears apart the queen’s celluloid-clad body, and the knife trembles treacherously in the hands of the prince, bending over Yvonne’s throat.

This manic desire to cut the throat of a silent person is one of the main metaphors of the play, as if answering the announcer’s question: “Remember the last time you were going to say something and changed your mind because of the possible consequences? What if the minority is the silent majority?”

Princess Yvonne. Theater named after Vakhtangov. Press about the performance

Kommersant, January 24, 2011

Saint and troubles

"Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy" at the Vakhtangov Theater

The Vakhtangov Theater presented the premiere of the play “Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy” based on the play by Witold Gombrowicz and directed by Vladimir Mirzoev. Narrated by ROMAN DOLZHANSKY.

When starting a conversation about Witold Gombrowicz's play, it is customary to emphasize that it was written in 1938. Any work born at the end of the 30s is, in one way or another, cast by the shadow of the war ahead of the world and the wave of violence and mutual destruction that has already rolled over Europe. “Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy” does not seem to be an anti-fascist pamphlet; there is no open journalism in Gombrowicz’s play. But the play provides plenty of scope for however sharp interpretations.

In terms of genre, this is generally a fairy tale: in a certain kingdom, in an unnamed state, a royal family lives, and while out for a walk, the crown prince falls in love with a strange girl - she doesn’t look like anyone, she behaves strangely and almost doesn’t speak. When the prince brings Yvonne to the palace as his betrothed, the whole well-established life goes wrong - skeletons of the past crawl out of the “closets”, the unsightly essence of the characters rushes out. Then the prince gets tired of her too. In the end, they decide to kill Yvonne, and each member of the royal family offers his own method of killing, but the strangest of them turns out to be the most effective - slipping crucian carp to the hated princess for lunch, so that she will choke and die.

Of course, the main thing when staging “Yvonne” is to understand who these kings and princes are and who the princess is - what is the difference between society and the alien, what does their meeting mean and what is the death of the title character. Let's say, in Oleg Rybkin's play, in the best "Yvonne" of many seen by your observer, the royal court was a gathering of cheerful half-robots, bright cartoon objects generated by universal computerization, while Yvonne was a sweet, old-fashioned simpleton in a chintz dress.

Vladimir Mirzoev does not emphasize the theme of the eve of fascism, although the characteristic military march sounds once, in the costumes of Alla Kozhenkova you can see the motives of the 30s, and it’s easy to say about Prince Dmitry Solomykin, a tall, fair-haired man in riding breeches and with a steely gaze " true Aryan"And yet, the “alignment of forces” is easier to determine by looking closely at Yvonne. In Vladimir Mirzoev’s play, this is literally a girl - but the girl is sick, crippled, fragile, bent over, with a pale face and permanently dislocated limbs. The heroine, bravely played by Liza Arzamasova , would not hobble around the stage, but ride in a wheelchair. Although she is probably supposed to suffer torment: this Yvonne is blessed, a saint, sent to the rest of Gombrowicz’s heroes to give them one last chance, to show them the way, it is no coincidence that in a ball of thread appears in the hands of a quiet lame woman. The pure soul remains unrecognized by the others, its mission is impossible - so there is no need for crucian carp, in Mirzoev's play the unrecognized Yvonne simply fades away, taking the prince with her to the other world. Although he tormented her, even hung her up on a rope, but at least made an attempt to fall in love - the only one of all... Together they ride on a cart in the finale somewhere into the depths of the stage, at this moment turning into a kind of temple.

It must be said that Vladimir Mirzoev usually saturates his performances with so many meaningful puzzles that it is not easy to watch his theatrical works, especially since many of Mirzoev’s “riddles” arouse great suspicion that they are obviously unsolvable, from the evil one. “Yvonne” is done much cleaner, although this performance also begins with Mirzoev’s favorite strange dances, either aerobics or oriental gymnastics. But in general, I repeat, the director’s new production is stricter in its stage “consistency” than most of the previous ones; the director is not fooling the viewer in vain. And Kozhenkova’s set is impressive and austere in an operatic way: a gray space vaguely reminiscent of a tram depot, there are even rails, in the first act the walls converge inward like a wedge, and in the second they form a rectangular hall. Why is another question, but it looks solemn and serious.

The problem in Yvonne is completely different, it affects almost everyone except the main character. Perhaps Vladimir Mirzoev wanted to create some kind of integral environment, but nothing has come of it yet - the actors have “taken away” their characters in all directions. In one of the interviews, the director admitted that he sees a direct connection between the styles of Witold Gombrowicz and Evgeniy Schwartz. He was probably too carried away by this, in principle quite defensible, thought. And then, as if from a fairy-tale Soviet parable film, Yuri Shlykov’s valet appears on stage. Efim Shifrin, who was invited to play the role of the king, let’s give him his due, tries to play in a non-beneficiary way, but the stage still comes out of all the cracks, persistent. And Marina Esipenko in the second act simply organizes a parade of styleless acting lies. Other characters do smaller things, but are just as unconvincing. No one explained why the saint was sent to this acting holiday. And by the end of the performance, only memories remain of good intentions.

INFOX.ru, January 21, 2011

Alla Shenderova

Vladimir Mirzoev makes you remember the worst

In addition to “X” and “Zh”, there is another hidden letter in the Russian alphabet – “I”. The famous director of “Khlestakov” and “Marriage” produced “Princess Yvonne” based on the play by Witold Gombrowicz on the stage of the Vakhtangov Theater.

How does a princess work?

On the stage of the Vakhtangov Theater, where his excellent “Cyrano” is still being performed, director Mirzoev, who took a long time out, trained a course of students, made a movie and released a couple of not very successful performances, returned noticeably changed.

Judging by “Yvonne,” he has become more straightforward, his metaphors are not so vague, although they are quite inventive. The former protagonist of all Mirzoev's productions, Maxim Sukhanov, does not participate in the play - only the young Vasilisa Sukhanova, who appears in a small but well-done role, reminds of the former tandem.

“Yvonne” begins with Mirzoev’s trademark passes, which are repeated by all the characters in the play, admiring the sunset not in the open air, as in Gombrowicz’s text, but in a shabby government building, reminiscent of an old gymnasium gymnasium.

Mirzoev’s longtime collaborator, artist Alla Kozhenkova, made the walls sliding. In the first act they meet at an angle, and in the second a blank, rough wall appears between them. Even in the prologue, looking at the hopeless light penetrating from the high windows, you think that, probably, it was in such halls that the Nazis in Eastern Europe gathered high school boys and shot them - all or selectively, depending on what kind of resistance the city offered.

In 1938, the classic of the Polish avant-garde wrote the farce “Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy,” which takes place in a certain fairy-tale kingdom, but the proximity of fascism is felt in the play as clearly as the bestial cruelty in the cutesy remarks of the characters in the play.

Prince Philip, fed up with erotic adventures, meets an unusual girl. With her painful and unrequited appearance, she terribly infuriates those around her. And although she is barely alive, she is suspected of arrogance, mockery and even voluptuousness - all those sins to which the king, queen, prince and their courtiers are subject. “She irritates me to such an extent that I will marry her,” declares the prince.

Dmitry Solomykin plays him as a modern guy. He is tall, blond, athletic, although he is dressed not in jeans, but in riding breeches, but whatever fashion dictates. At the sight of poor Yvonne, a spark of childish curiosity lights up in his eyes, which have already seen a lot: he finally saw a new, incomprehensible toy. What should I do? Drag her into the palace, break her into many pieces, and see how she works.

The first scenes in Mirzoev's play are worth a lot. Actress of the Vakhtangov Theater Maria Berdinskikh plays Yvonne in such a way that the viewer believes that an ordinary girl has wormed her way into the company of artists. Sick, lopsided, strangely distorting thin fingers, but not very stupid and therefore silently turns away every time one of the heroes commits another cruelty or tactlessness. And now Prince Philip and his two henchmen are going to torture this girl before our eyes.

There is little naturalism in the performance, except for a special table with a saw, hooks and knives, which were prepared by Philip, who attached a cable to Yvonne’s belt and suspended her from the grate. Closing her eyes and swaying slightly, she floats like a moth. Actually, nothing more cruel happens in the play, but the viewer has a chill running down his spine.

Where does "Yvonne" begin?

The king is played by Efim Shifrin, who previously appeared on the stage of the Vakhtangov Theater in productions by Roman Viktyuk. The monologue of the royal shameless man, whom the wretched Yvonne reminds of the seamstress who was raped and killed by him once in the same living room, through which Yvonne, half-dead from fear, is now sneaking, he pronounces in a farcical manner, in fact, it was written like that by Gombrowicz. But the trail of pop intonations takes over: living life turns into bad theater.

The Queen, who in the first act Marina Esipenko portrays as a social beauty who likes to try on a mask of good nature and mercy, in the second turns into an evil clown. She is secretly obsessed with poetry, and her ill daughter-in-law somehow reminds her of these verses, just as hopelessly wretched and absurd. And now Her Majesty is howling provincially, clutching a bottle of poison, preparing to either really kill, or play another role. In a word, Yvonne incomprehensibly provokes everyone to remember all the most absurd and unsightly things about themselves, and the director mockingly theatricalizes these memories, the background for which is Nazi marches coming from God knows where.

In the finale, of course, a collective solution will be found: to destroy Yvonne, and then dress up in mourning, lift up your eyes and listen to the mournful chorale. And although the ominous rhythm and absolute authenticity of the first act is lost in the second, Mirzoev embodies the theme, slyly stated by Gombrowicz, quite clearly.

“Kh(lestakov)” and “Zh(enitba)” - this is how the names of the hits he staged at the Stanislavsky Theater were once written. This was Gogol of the new time, Gogol, seasoned with drive, shamelessness and the absurdity of life in post-perestroika Russia. The current premiere of Mirzoev should be written in the same manner: “I (wonna).” Because with “and” such relevant words begin, without which our Russian reality today cannot be described: Extermination of the Other and the Dissident.

RG, January 25, 2011

Alena Karas

Death of gods

At the Theater. Vakhtangov played the legendary "Yvonne"

The play by the Polish avant-garde classic Witold Gombrowicz “Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy” was written in 1938, almost a year before the outbreak of World War II, and it reflected the situation of Europe eaten away by fascism in an extravagant and unexpected way. For Vladimir Mirzoev, this became the starting point of his thoughts about the play.

Gombrowicz's masterpiece, which acquired the same significance of an all-encompassing symbol as Beckett's Godot, decisively influenced Polish and European theater. Written as a parody of Shakespearean tragedy, Yvonne took on the role of a new global European metatext. The famous silent princess, endowed with only seven replicas-rebuses, one of her appearance, or rather, her complete neutrality, provokes a whole storm of reactions, reflections, sadomasochistic exercises, outbursts of a bad conscience, self-deprecation...

“Everyone has his own creature that drives him into a state of delirium tremens,” says Prince Philip, and this could be said by any of Gombrowicz’s characters. His main character, Yvonne, about whom nothing can be said, brings others into real confusion. Annoyed by her appearance, the prince invites her... to marry him and every moment becomes more and more inflamed, reaching the point of bestial frenzy. Queen Margaret discovers with contempt and horror the mediocrity of her poetry, and her husband King Ignatius recalls his old carnivorous sins, culminating in murder. The text of the play flickers, swinging from chilling irony, endless parody to skillful psychological analysis, in which each meeting with the silent princess makes them say more and more to themselves. Gombrowicz reveals the very mechanics of hysteria and frenzy - silence is unbearable for us, it becomes a screen onto which our unconscious is projected. And there is nothing good there.

Vladimir Mirzoev opened the play through the social unconscious of a society overtaken by fascism. His Yvonne is not neutral, she is an icon of foolishness, an icon of non-triviality, towards which society shows all its intolerance. Just as in his previous works Maxim Sukhanov exploded the stability of society with his extreme otherness, here Maria Berdinskikh does it in line with Liza Arzamasova. Contorted by bone disease, similar to Norshtein’s Akaki, touchingly moving his lips, she evokes compassion or tenderness. But not for the characters in the play.

Alla Kozhenkova built two massive brownish walls for this kingdom, converging together. A typical example of Hitler-Stalinist architecture, complemented by a fascist march, creates very specific associations. It has been a long time since Mirzoev was as definite in his statements and figurative decisions as he is here. For him, there is no neutrality in Yvonne; she is defined by her holy fool, “other” - let’s add, luminous - beauty. Unfortunately, when the actress begins to speak, this magic of her beautifully conceived “choreography” dissipates. In relation to her, the blond prince (Dmitry Solomykin), moreover, played ingenuously and rudely, is immediately read as the apotheosis of fascism, not to mention the rude lout, King Ignacy in a T-shirt and a brocade robe instead of a robe (except for Leonid Gromov, whom I saw, he is played by Efim Shifrin). The scene where the queen (Marina Esipenko) reads her poems, in which rowan and viburnum rhyme with Messalina, is deadly funny, and she herself is horrified by their mediocrity.

But still, I see some kind of failure of the aesthetic code here. For Mirzoev, “Yvonne” is not so much a story “about us” as a story “about them” - about power, about inflated nationalist hysteria, about intolerance as the main property of today's Russia. The performance is crowned by a funeral chorus from La Traviata, while Yvonne and the Prince, enchanted by her, float away on a pedestal deep into the depths, where the stained-glass rose of the cathedral shines behind the sliding “totalitarian” walls. With this “operatic” gesture, Mirzoev equates the bird Yvonne and her executioner, making them identical victims of a torn history. The whole final atmosphere in the spirit of Wagner or, rather, Visconti's "Twilight of the Gods" should make us horrified. But it seems she can't do it.

Izvestia, January 25, 2011

Marina Davydova

Yvonne at the court of the king of the stage

At the Vakhtangov Theater, Vladimir Mirzoev staged the play “Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy” by Witold Gombrowicz. In addition to representatives of the Vakhtangov school itself, pop star Efim Shifrin and star of the TV series “Daddy’s Daughters” Liza Arzamasova are taking part in it.

The first thing that should be said about the new performance by the famous Russian director is that it is a clear performance. An intellectual, a talker and an expert in Eastern philosophy, Vladimir Mirzoev often filled the stage with so much meaningful fog that behind mysterious gestures, facial expressions, poses and other staging patterns, not only the meaning, but sometimes even the very plot of a particular play was lost. In the new performance, the plot lies before the audience at a glance.

The dramatic work of the 20th century Polish classic Witold Gombrowicz is one of those that is usually placed in the mainstream of theatrical absurdity. It inherits the dramaturgy of Alfred Jarry, anticipates Ionesco and Mrozek, but plot-wise, it seems to me, most of all has something in common with Pier Paolo Pasolini’s mysterious film “Theorem”. In these two works, stylistically very far from each other, the initial situation coincides.

In Pasolini, a strange guest comes to a wealthy Milanese family, communication with whom (the culmination of this communication in “Theorem” every time is intercourse) turns out to be a turning point in the lives of all the characters and forces each of them to turn their eyes deep into their souls. At the same time, everything about family members is more or less clear: their characters, as well as their social status, can be easily described in words. Absolutely nothing is clear about the mysterious guest himself. Who is he - a newly-minted messiah, a messenger of Satan, a psychic, just a blond beast - everyone is invited to answer this question on their own. Gombrowicz has a similar plot.

In a certain kingdom-state live a king, a queen, a crown prince, and court servants. And suddenly, at the whim of a spoiled and jaded heir, either a girl, or a vision, or the dangerous crazy Yvonne ends up in their palace mansion. The meeting with this amazing creature brings out all the old complexes and hidden fears of the heroes and becomes a true test for each of them. So, in the end, they unanimously decide to kill off this innocent guest, about whom we really don’t know anything, just as we didn’t learn anything about the mysterious alien from “Theorem.”

Of all Mirzoev’s recent performances, this one was suddenly imbued with obvious Christian motifs, which the director, who gravitated towards Buddhism, not only avoided completely, but, let’s be careful, avoided. When asked who Yvonne is, he initially answers simply, not to say primitively. main character in the Vakhtangov performance, it seems that he suffers from all diseases: from mental retardation to cerebral palsy. Her reactions are inhibited. She moves as if in the dark. Almost doesn't speak. It is not a fact that he will be able to touch the tip of his own nose the first time.

At first, this conceptual solution is reminiscent of the famous joke: “Scientists have unraveled the mystery of Gioconda’s smile. After many years of research, it was found that she was just a fool.” But gradually something else emerges behind the joke. Mirzoev's Yvonne is not a fool. She is, as the Scripture says, poor in spirit. Blessed. The smile with which she looks at the prince is the smile of a baby who sees his own face bending over him. In this creature, not adapted to life, completely devoid of habitual reflexes, there is and cannot be any self-interest, no hypocrisy, no ambitions, no pride, no passions. And this enlightenment frightens the inhabitants of the palace, included in the usual coordinate system, worse than any black hole. In the finale, in the scene of Yvonne’s death, Mirzoev will directly indicate Christian reminiscences, turning the very conventional space of the performance into gothic cathedral with a stained glass window glowing in the background.

But the most interesting thing in Vakhtangov’s premiere is how the confrontation between Yvonne and the other characters, inherent in the director’s concept itself, unintentionally turns into a confrontation with the acting style of the performers. Yvonne is played by a very young (15 years old) Liza Arzamasova. And her role is a small acting miracle. In essence, it is her rare, amazing organic nature that constitutes the main interest in this performance. Just as there is no self-interest or hypocrisy in Yvonne herself, Liza Arzamasova does not have that acting narcissism that is inherent in her partners - from the king of the stage Efim Shifrin (he plays King Ignatius) to the experienced Vakhtangov players - Marina Esipenko and Yuri Shlykov.

We must give Shifrin his due: he happily avoids the antics that Yuri Stoyanov, involved in the “Marriage” there, allows on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater. But the pop humor and the desire to quickly go on a reprise still make themselves felt. Artists of the academic theater reach out to the pop star in the vain hope of re-starring her. All of them are typical representatives of the benefit theater, and meeting Liza Arzamasova on stage for them is indeed like meeting Yvonne for the royal court. Only, unlike Gombrowicz’s heroes, they do not experience complexes. They do not notice their defeat in this unannounced competition. And they go out to bow, terribly pleased with themselves.

New news, January 26, 2011

Olga Egoshina

Bad joke

The first premiere of the anniversary season at the Vakhtangov Theater was “Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy”

Written in 1938, Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy is one of the most popular plays by Polish playwright Witold Gombrowicz. At the beginning of the 2000s, it was staged in Russia by Oleg Rybkin and Alexey Levinsky. At the Vakhtangov Theater, the Polish play was staged by the provocative director Vladimir Mirzoev, who invited Efim Shifrin and young star series to Liza Arzamasova.

In his “The Master and Margarita,” Mikhail Bulgakov, among other sinners, brought out a gloomy knight who once made an unsuccessful joke and has now been paying for centuries for his pun about light and darkness. In his play “Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy,” written around the same years, Polish playwright Witold Gombrowicz tells the story of a royal joke that ended in death. Crown Prince Philip decides to give a lesson to his rake friends “how to joke,” and announces the poor, homely, sickly girl Yvonne as his bride. A silent simpleton accepted into the palace quickly becomes the object of hatred of the courtiers, royal parents, friends of the groom, and finally, the prince himself. Her defenselessness provokes aggression from those around her, her plainness provokes cruelty, and her eternal silence serves as a sure guarantee of impunity for any offenders. The king father wants to strangle the hated bride, the queen mother wants to poison her. The prince himself, along with his friends, stands guard under the door of her bedroom with a knife and an ax. Finally, the court chamberlain comes up with a sophisticated plan for a ceremonial dinner in honor of Yvonne. The main dish on it is crucian carp (as the chamberlain explains, a painfully shy girl will certainly choke on a fish bone, especially if the entire royal court is looking at her plate).

Any naturalist knows this law of the flock: if a fish, bird or animal is not like the others, its neighbors will certainly finish it off. So, the crows will certainly peck the white crow... The philosophical parable of Witold Gombrowicz transfers these laws of the flock to the human community. The place of action is everywhere, the time of action is always. His play is structured as a kind of chess study, in which the exact number of moves inevitably leads to a declared checkmate.

Vladimir Mirzoev turns the royal court into a collection of strange freaks, each of whom exists in his own stylistic manner. The Queen (Marina Esipenko) resembles some villainess from children's fairy tales. Efim Shifrin plays the king with another variation of his pop klutzes. Prince Philip, played by Dmitry Solomykin, seems like a character from Cruel Intentions. And Yuri Shlykov, the chamberlain with his reprise phrases, would be quite appropriate in Schwartz’s “An Ordinary Miracle.” Against this motley background, Yvonne does not seem at all like a “creature from another world,” as written by the playwright; Vladimir Mirzoev turned the “strange girl” of the play into a wretched cripple. Liza Arzamasova wanders around the stage, bent like the letter “zyu”: her back is like a wheel, she walks like a duck, her eyes run to the bridge of her nose... And every now and then a smile of malicious satisfaction flutters on her face: that’s who I am! It seems that the director was trying to achieve the effect of provoking evil feelings not only in the characters, but also in the audience: well, try to feel sorry for this evil fearmonger!

Usually unceremoniously cutting out any bizarre figures from the author's text, Vladimir Mirzoev in this production follows the text of the play almost cue by cue (sacrificing only a few episodic scenes). And the main surprise is saved for the finale.

The prince lies down next to the body of the choked fish bone and the dead Yvonne and, it seems, also gives his soul to God. It is quite difficult to explain this unexpected outburst of repentance from the eccentric hooligan. This ending is in no way consistent with the logic of character development or the logic of Gombrowicz’s plot. However, in a world where crime and punishment have long been unrelated and no one is afraid that a “bad joke” may cost the salvation of a soul, all we can do is unravel meaningless spectacular gestures made solely for the sake of the gesture itself, like a mournful sculptural compositions of the finale of the play by Vladimir Mirzoev.

VM, January 27, 2011

Olga Fuks

Scarecrow

“Princess Yvonne” by Vladimir Mirzoev at the Theater. Vakhtangov

“Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy” - a premonition of an irreparable catastrophe wrapped in a fairy tale - was written by the Polish classic Witold Gombrowicz in 1938.

But, as often happens, the Polish public (and then the public of other countries) saw “Yvonne” for the first time when it was time to comprehend the horror they had experienced - in the fifties (before that time, Gombrowicz’s work was banned in Poland). The play, translated into sixteen languages, was staged a lot and willingly (one of its directors was Ingmar Bergman) - after all, there are always plenty of reasons to persecute those who are not like the majority (the main motive of the play).

It is impossible not to feel this atmosphere in our society today - and Vladimir Mirzoev staged “Yvonne” at the Theater. Vakhtangov. Artist Alla Kozhenkova built on the stage a collective image of a echoing gym, palace vaults and a temple - a closed space where the beauty of the sunset is replaced by a deathly glow through thick glass. The illusion of freedom.

Faustes Latenas, a recognized master of theater music, scored the performance with a mix of Nazi marches, operetta arias and a quiet lullaby, which could be called “Yvonne’s theme.”

About Mirzoyev’s “Yvonne” one is tempted to say that, they say, the director has fallen into heresy, into unheard-of simplicity. If there were elements of psychedelic madness left anywhere, it was only at the very beginning, during the palace ceremony: that’s why it was a ceremony, to be pretentious. The actors felt this freedom and each played their own game: Yuri Shlykov (chamberlain) and Marina Esipenko (queen) - operetta villains, Leonid Gromov (king) - a psychologically reliable simple man in underpants, whom mocking fate threw onto the royal throne and forced to live up to . More precisely, the Vakhtangov youth and Evgeny Fedorov (the old lackey who always gets in the way, clumsily trying to save the victim of the royal games) play here.

Handsome Prince Philip (Dmitry Solomykin) is so fed up that not a single girl in the kingdom is attracted to him, and his two friends - a sort of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Vasily Simonov, Arthur Ivanov), transformed by Polish absurdity - are trying in vain to convince him that their saint the duty is to indulge in the pleasures appropriate to young men. This young two-meter Viking is bursting with excess of youthful strength and the poison of spleen, until he accidentally catches the eye of Yvonne (Maria Berdinskikh) with two grotesquely grumpy aunts (Nina Nekhlopochenko, Agnessa Peterson).

The director outlined her dissimilarity very clearly: Yvonne is a disabled person from childhood, the actress draws out the features of autism and cerebral palsy with medical precision. Any word comes to her with difficulty, she definitely saves words and energy, speaking only when she already wants to scream. This pitiful, gentle creature causes a storm of emotions in the prince: only with this one does he feel like the absolute ruler of the world and, what is much more difficult, of his own destiny.

The prince displays monstrous infantilism: having acquired live entertainment for himself through a youthful hysteria in front of his parents, he first plays doctor with her (listens through a phonendoscope, insolently examines her), then torments her by hanging her from the ceiling, and then gets rid of her as if she were a boring toy. But in the infantility of his soul, childishness emerges: he cannot get rid of pity for this “defective toy” and vaguely feels that Yvonne is the only one who fell in love with him, and not his status.

Yvonne's appearance in the palace is a litmus test that reveals the hidden vices of the rulers of this world. Everyone sees in her not a person, but his own secret reflection. Yvonne is a conscience, a sick, distorted, almost voiceless conscience, which is unpleasant to deal with. It becomes unbearable to contemplate this creature, and the three crowned heads have one thought - to kill Yvonne. To kill spectacularly, with a dagger, as the prince wants, secretly with poison, as the queen thinks, or by setting up an insidious absurdity that guarantees an alibi, as the king and the chamberlain are planning.

Yvonne dies from neither one nor the other, nor the third - from the carbon monoxide of hatred spilled around. He just lies down and quietly freezes.

Mirzoev brings hope into this hopeless farce. The role of the prince is written in such a way that he can be made the main monster, but the director does not refuse him rebirth.

Having “been ill” with Yvonne, the prince himself cannot live in the poisoned air and freezes next to her. To no longer “be, not be, not participate” where someone’s life may be unnecessary.

Culture, February 3, 2011

Irina Alpatova

Age of degeneration

“Princess Yvonne.” Theater named after Evg. Vakhtangov

Vladimir Mirzoev's performances are similar to puzzles and charades. And, by and large, viewers who have a taste for such things are able to adequately perceive them. Those attracted only by the genre subtitle “comedy” will probably be puzzled by not getting what they wanted in full. But what can you do, since the classic of the Polish avant-garde, Witold Gombrowicz, composed plays full of hidden meanings and allusions, and easy accessibility is by no means his path. In addition, the end of the 30s of the last century undoubtedly responded in high-quality literature and drama with certain foresights, premonitions and life analogies. Anxiety, instability, expectation of unclear changes, and sometimes signs of the “era of degeneration” - all this can easily be detected in the captured phrases and dialogues.

“Princess Yvonne,” written in 1938, is no exception. Despite the fact that in the list of characters you will find the King and Queen, the Prince and the Chamberlain, in general, those characters who most often appear in fairy tales. But, according to the director, Gombrowicz’s “fairy-tale” world is akin to the one that was composed around the same time by the Russian author Evgeniy Shvarts. Several years ago, Mirzoev mastered the aesthetics of Schwartz in the play “Dragon”. However, he also staged “Yvonne,” but a long time ago in Canada. The new version appeared on the stage of the Vakhtangov Theater, where the director is also no stranger and, perhaps, made a number of his most successful Russian productions (in particular, “Cyrano de Bergerac” with Maxim Sukhanov and Irina Kupchenko).

So, fairy-tale-life “hints” have already occupied the theatrical program, where the silhouettes of a lady in an old dress and a pointed Ku Klux Klan cap and a man in military uniform from the time the play was written came together. Without much pedaling, but all this will sound clearly later in the performance. A German military march will pass in a quiet background (musical arrangement by Faustas Lathenas), and Queen Margaret (Marina Esipenko), performing comedy in front of the public, will succumb to the temptation for a moment to depict a gesture of a Nazi salute. Yes, in fact, Prince Philip (Dmitry Solomykin), dressed in riding breeches, will visually resemble the “blond beast”. But all this, it is worth repeating, is just a background that envelops a very whimsical and not always intelligible history, placed, rather, not even in timelessness, but in timelessness. Which, by the way, is no less eternal than time itself.

The royal family and their retinue are enclosed in a spacious and empty space with glass walls, behind which nothing living can be discerned. The glass is covered with dust and almost does not allow light to pass through (set design and costumes by Alla Kozhenkova), and the inhabitants of such a strange “castle” habitually indulge in Mirzoev’s favorite plastic exercises (choreography by Arthur Oshchepkov). Their life seems escheated and debugged to the point of automatism, after which the internal “mechanism” is supposed to either break down or “restart” according to a new program. In general, you need some external reason that can provoke any changes.

A similar reason here is a creature named Yvonne (Liza Arzamasova), who is dragged by the arms of two elderly aunts (Agnesa Peterson and Eleonora Shashkova). This Yvonne is truly a “creature”: legs that don’t bend at the knees, a protruding butt, inhibited gestures, a hazy look. Young Liza Arzamasova, of course, at the director’s suggestion, manages to convey the main thing: she is “different,” “a thing in itself,” a foolish girl, ugly and touching at the same time. She is here - an involuntary troublemaker, a powerful irritant and provocateur. Just by his existence, without his own knowledge. But in a collision with the “other”, the defiantly different, everything is tested for strength: one’s own “I”, old foundations, family ties, established relationships, and this whole, also long-established picture of the world.

You can mock Yvonne without considering her a full-fledged person. You can hang him above the stage by an iron hook and torment him with questions. You can make faces at her or, conversely, insult her with “high-society treatment.” You can even offer your hand and heart, which is what Prince Philip - Solomykin does. Moreover, she is not capable of intelligible and coherent speech, she rarely speaks and mostly in riddles. But this Yvonne paradoxically demonstrates to the half-degenerate royal family that somewhere there is another, real life: touching, sentimental, with timid touches, fearful glances. Where a casually thrown word is given meaning, where they don’t know how to act as a comedian, but they take everything on faith. It is impossible for them to understand this, much less accept it, but it is also impossible to exist with this very living “other” before their eyes, who has turned the entire previous royal life inside out. It reminds us of too many things that are carefully hidden.

And throughout the second half of the action, the characters spend their time searching for a way to kill Yvonne. King Ignatius (Efim Shifrin), behaving in the excellent traditions of a comedy show with dressing up and all sorts of “tricks,” offers to serve carp in sour cream so that the girl will choke on the bone (and she is here for everyone “a bone in the throat”). Margarita-Esipenko even launches into a benefit monologue with a reading of her own poems and theatrical “repentance” for past sins, clutching a bottle of poison for Yvonne. The prince and his friends Kirill (Arthur Ivanov) and Cyprian (Valery Ushakov) are shaking their swords. It is clear that there is no way out, and everything “other” is destined for an unenviable fate. However, this Yvonne Arzamasova doesn’t need much. She seems to be dying on her own, and not from bones or poison. The air supply is simply running out, and there is no need to talk about oxygen in the airless space of the castle.

However, it is too early to talk about the stylistic integrity of Vakhtangov’s performance. One can treat director Vladimir Mirzoev differently, but the aesthetic structure of the plan cannot be taken away from him. But closer to its embodiment is the young cast of the play and the experienced Evgeny Fedorov (lackey Valentin) who joined him. But the King - Shifrin and the Queen - Esipenko sometimes do not deny themselves the right to benefit performances. They, of course, were also directed by Mirzoev, but in their execution they sometimes go off scale beyond the acceptable boundaries of style and overall integrity. However, such grotesquery is still more appropriate than the psychological nuances that are sometimes expected from Gombrowicz or Mirzoev for unknown reasons. And in general, if a theatrical spectacle does not resemble semolina porridge, which is obsequiously put into your mouth, does not copy banal signs of everyday life, but makes you at least somehow use your brain, then it has some real value. But everyone can specify it themselves.

Planet Beauty, No. 1-2, 2011

Vera Maksimova

About sin, fear and sadness

At the theater. Evgeny Vakhtangov, director Vladimir Mirzoev staged the play by the classic of the Polish avant-garde Witold Gombrowicz “Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy”.

Does it really matter that Witold Gombrowicz's famous play was written in 1938? Is the chronological reference to the time of the first, still bloodless victories of fascism in Europe so important for Vladimir Mirzoev’s performance?

In the performance, a half-fairy tale, or a fantasy, or a game of dreams (creepy, like Hoffmann’s), there are material and sound “metas” of fascism. The march of the Nazis sounds bravura, with a hooligan whistle.

Prince Kirill (Dmitry Solomykin), who out of boredom, irritation or as a joke decided to marry the sickly and strange silent Yvonne, has the appearance of a pure Aryan, fierce and cold, with a medal profile, blond hair, an athlete’s figure, wears riding breeches, boots and a black T-shirt - a shirt.

But the exemplary performance staged and performed by the Vakhtangov actors is not only about fascism as a socio-political phenomenon of recent history. It is not about the past, perhaps about the present, but most of all about the future or the eternal. About the ineradicable inferiority complexes, fear, envy, sin, despondency and boredom in humans. (How dangerously bored is the joyless, cruel mischief-maker Prince Philip with his fascist friends Kirill - Arthur Ivanov and Cyprian - Valery Ushakov). Quite pessimistic, a play about the metaphysics of the “underground” in man, about the fear of exposure; about the rejection and destruction of everyone who is weaker or more perfect, more beautiful than the “average majority.” The play is about mystery and soil (not only social, but also physiological, biological, “medical”), on which fascism can flare up at any moment. (The motive of sadism in the Prince, who frightens Yvonne with torture instruments, is by no means accidental).

According to Gombrowicz and Mirzoev, fascism continues everyday life b in a person, lasts and smolders, hiding until time. A play written a long time ago hurts today and will hurt for a long time. It is obvious.

The exit of the family, led by the slowly smooth, beautiful and thin, like a snake, Margarita (Marina Esipenko), is solemnly and ritually staged - indivisible, like a single body, undisguisedly aesthetic in exquisite costumes and the spacious pavilion of the artist Alla Kozhenkova (which is either a hangar, in the architectural style of the Third Reich, where the Nazis found it convenient to shoot “inferior” children, or a modern industrial lifeless space with gray smoky air). However, as soon as the strange, almost supermundane, with “sluggish blood circulation” Yvonne appears, brought into the palace at the whim of the Prince, the ritual collapses, the unity disintegrates, the self-satisfied peace disappears. Each of the characters will experience anxiety, worry, and fear of all degrees and shades. Not too strong for the plebeian, hysterical and fool - King Ignatius (Vakhtangov actor Leonid Gromov in this role seems more convincing, lively, funny, faithful to the intellectual play than the guest - to the delight of the audience and as a guarantee of box office success - the variety artist, loud showman Efim Shifrin ). Fear - torment, neurasthenic rushing to the point of screaming and screaming (there could be fewer of them) - in the prince, who is afraid to receive from Yvonne an impulse of trouble, dissatisfaction with himself, to become infected with doubt and suffering.

Everyone will have a secret revealed. The elegant Chamberlain (Yuri Shlykov) will “piquantly” chat and gracefully “dance” an old crime common with the King - the rape and murder of a seamstress girl. Fear and horror will strike Margarita (Marina Esipenko). Her monologue is a confession not about bad poems that the Queen hides from people, but about sinful “impulses”, about the “flame” that rages in her “empty womb”, about the desire to “bend, burn ...” A huge monologue will become an acting, genre , the stylistic climax of the performance. Everything - to the fullest extent of their strength, with a frantic temperament, but also laughing at the heroine, at her pathos and pathos. The actress interrupts the solemn royal sounds with everyday, plebeian sounds - of a completely confused woman. (Only the peculiar Roman Dolzhansky, a columnist for Kommersant, who generally has difficulty perceiving female beauty on stage, could respond with rudeness to the actress, not appreciate the “luxurious,” as they would say in the old theater, ironic play, talent and God-given data - the face, figure, musical gesture, “flowing” and flexible hands, like those of a prima ballerina).

Perhaps the most difficult thing was to play the alien Yvonne. For the two performers, it is outwardly completely different. A girl invited “from the outside” is a child prodigy, Liza Arzamasova, known from many films and performances, who perfectly performs an extremely complex plastic drawing. Her Yvonne is a semi-cripple with twisted feet, crooked toes, and a bent back. (Almost "Down")

The young talented professional actress Maria Berdinskikh has the appearance of a teenager with a sweet round face, but is inhibited and slow beyond measure. The similarity between both is that they are touching and natural, like children, childishly closely and relentlessly watching everything that happens. With her naturalness, attention and insight, Yvonne, as she is played by both actresses, frightens to death the etiquette-bound, pretenders - the inhabitants of the Court. Her secret frightens her. When occasionally she opens her silent lips and in a transparent, glassy voice utters short phrases: “Get out,” or “I don’t want to,” “I won’t,” it is obvious that the alien is normal, reasonable and has character. Both actresses have a charming look. With the Berdinskys - gentle, quiet, silent - almost constantly. At Arzamasova's - occasionally. But in the episode when the picky prince peers at Yvonne, we agree with him that her face is correct and beautiful. It is very important in the play that the dumb Princess of Burgundy is in love, that she loves. He rushes to touch and lean against the Prince. Humor is allowed into the sad role. Yvonne, persistent in her love, unwaveringly sitting on a stool, cannot be torn off the floor, moved from her place, carried away from the irritated Prince by three hefty men.

The ability of the Vakhtangov actors to embody the most terrible situation (like cutting off the heads of suitors in “Princess Turandot”) in a grotesque, conventional way, easily, with humor, “without burdening”, came in handy in Gombrowicz’s production. As well as the philosophy inherited from the founder, expressed not in verbal debates that kill the theater, but in a bizarre play of situations, positions, in grotesque and eccentric accents.

Only one scene is sad and serious - the death of the heroine in the finale. The newcomer is killed in the most vulgar way - they are forced to choke on a fish bone, and not from the high-breed burbot, carp or eel, but from the most common crucian carp. However, this is how “unique people” are most often killed in real life.

But here's the mystery. The prince does not rise reluctantly, after persuasion from the hypocritical family, to kneel before the bed of the deceased (as written by the author). He lies down next to the dead, curled up bride. Dying or wants to die? They will both be silently rolled into the depths of the stage, into the twilight of nothingness, leaving us to think that human death is terrible, and that it is impossible to kill.