DRAMA REVIEW: Kurbas Theater's productions of "Marusia Churai" and "Kaminnyi Hospodar" (03/22/98)

DRAMA REVIEW: Kurbas Theater's productions
of "Marusia Churai" and "Kaminnyi Hospodar"

by Dr. Larissa M. L. Z. Onyshkevych

The Les Kurbas Theater of Lviv is currently on tour in the U. S. with several productions, among them: Lina Kostenko's verse drama "Marusia Churai," Lesia Ukrainka's "Kaminnyi Hospodar" (The Stone Host), Hryhorii Skovoroda's "Blahodarnyi Erodii" (The Grateful Erodii), a selection of poetry by Bohdan Ihor Antonych and a program dedicated to the literary critic Ivan Svitlychnyi.

We hear the music of the Ukrainian song "Oi, ne khody, Hrytsiu" even on Muzak. The legendary author of both the lyrics and the music is Marusia Churai who lived in the 17th century. She is credited with composing songs that are still sung today.

The song "Hrytsiu" tells the story of Hryts' unfaithfulness and how his beloved, having gathered special herbs, prepared a specific herb on each day of the week, and finally poisoned him.

Writing in 1979, in Soviet Ukraine, Ms. Kostenko focused her attention on the creative individual versus society. In her version of the story, Marusia prepares the poison for herself. Hryts comes to see her, offering explanations and excuses, but Marusia won't have him now. By chance, Hryts drinks the poison and dies. Marusia is arrested and taken before a tribunal. She is found guilty and sentenced to execution by hanging. When the hetman hears of this, he orders the sentence to be commuted - for the sake of Marusia's famous Kozak father, for the Kozaks who always sang her songs, and for the country as a whole. It is inconceivable that a country be without song, without the knowledge of its history, without creative individuals.

For Marusia, the world came to an end when Hryts died. She is indifferent to the trial proceedings and sentencing. She has already died inside. After her release Marusia is unable to relate to the real world; she embarks on a pilgrimage to Kyiv.

The play opens with the scene in which she sets out on the pilgrimage. The backdrop is a makeshift iconostasis, which symbolizes the churches of Kyiv. The saints depicted on the iconostasis serve as the true judges at the trial and as sympathetic guarantors of truth and justice. The numerous lit candles are used as archetypes for the seeking of truth. A wandering cantor meets Marusia and accompanies her on the pilgrimage. When he learns that she is from Poltava, he inquires about the renowned songwriter. Marusia pretends she does not know to whom he is referring.

In a reversed order of events, the trial scene is depicted through the protagonist's reminiscences, in a dreamlike, at times nightmarish, fashion. Marusia stands center stage; the events she recounts take place in the background, to the accompaniment of an all-pervasive din of voices. Puppet-like characters appear on the stage. Permanent smiles are painted on their faces; to Marusia, it seems that even her mother, who delivers a caring yet sorrowful monologue at the trial, has a smile on her face. The grotesqueness of the scene conveys not only a dreamlike state, but also the essence of the events.

The occasional ringing of a bell interrupts the scene. Marusia recalls her meetings with Hryts, especially the last one. She comes to the realization that as much as she loved him, Hryts is essentially fickle and weak; his infidelity is only one symptom of his spinelessness. In her recollections, Hryts appears walking on stilts that he has fashioned himself, and it is from these stilts that he falls to the ground with a loud thump, as if into a grave of his own making.

During the recitation of the hetman's words about a country without song and creative individuals, with no memory of one's history, the actors-puppets on stage behave like cripples - they open their mouths but produce no words, no sound. By contrast, at the end of the play, all the actors sit down on the edge of the stage and sing Marusia's songs: "Oi, ne khody, Hrytsiu," "Na horodi verba riasna," "Zasvit vstaly kozachenky," "V kinsti hrebli shumliat verby," among others. This serves as a reaffirmation that centuries-old songs continue to be sung, that collective memory keeps history alive, and that ethical values are passed on from generation to generation. And so, Marusia lives on as a symbol.

In a revival of "Marusia Churai," which was first staged by the group 10 years ago, the leading roles are just as intensely performed once again by Tetiana Kaspruk and Oleh Drach, with set design by Andriy Humeniuk, and Volodymyr Kuchynsky, artistic director.

"Kaminnyi Hospodar" from Lviv

There have been numerous adaptations in world drama dealing with the Don Juan legend. Don Juan has been variously portrayed as villain, hero, superman, a Faust-like figure or an aimless libertine. Playwrights, both men and women, offered their own interpretations of the legend, as did Lesia Ukrainka, in her penultimate verse drama "Kaminnyi Hospodar" (The Stone Host).

Whereas all of Ukraina's verse dramas may be said to be plays of ideas, the poetess herself considered such works as "Lisova Pisnia" and "Kaminnyi Hospodar" as her only two real dramas. In her words, "Kaminnyi Hospodar" was "objectively portrayed, compact in form and not submerged in lyricism." The work, which was completed April 12, 1919, proved to be physically and psychologically draining.

In a letter to the writer Olha Kobylianska, Ukrainka noted that she wanted to have the plot convey "a stone-like quality, and that the staging was to evoke a group sculpture." In Mr. Kuchynsky's production, when the first dim light falls on the stage, the image of a cathedral facade is projected onto the backdrop. The actors appear in frozen poses, like stone statues. Some appear as funerary statues in a cemetery. The aspect of "stoniness" is all-pervasive.

Anna and her friend Dolores exchange comments, but for the most part, they talk past each other, not to each other. The two women have very different values. When Don Juan appears, he and Donna Anna talk to each other in frozen positions, like statues. Only Dolores moves freely; she cannot be touched by stone and all it stands for.

Dolores, is the betrothed of Don Juan, who had been banished by the king Dolores regains for him his freedom and former titles. Don Juan proposes to marry Dolores in gratitude, but she chooses to save his soul instead. Dolores pays for the sinful manner in which she purchased his freedom with self-sacrifice, and now willingly goes to a nunnery.

Don Juan believes that in his numerous affairs he allows women to achieve their dreams. Dolores does not contradict him; with tears in her eyes, she smiles and says "no words are needed." Dolores is ever the victim, whom Don Juan does not understand even at this moment.

Ukrainka noted that initially she wanted to make Dolores the heroine, as someone who cannot be ruled by anything stony, and is envisioned as the one who can transcend social mores in order to make the utmost sacrifice for another.

Don Juan continues to woo Anna, although she is married to the Commandor. In an interchange of secret plans with her husband regarding his advancement, perhaps even to the throne, Anna, who until then always taunted the Commandor about being like a tall stone mountain top, finally accepts a vision of her role there, too. She begins to like the idea and the challenge of power. For the promise of power, Anna is willing to perform society's requirements.

In the second half of the performance, the dashing Don Juan appears dressed in pink and pale blue, looking like a page. It takes a while to understand why. The Commandor finds Don Juan in Donna Anna's chamber, a duel follows, and the Commandor is killed. Anna seems lost - but only for a second. We see her mind planning and scheming. Lady Macbeth is born.

When Anna and Juan meet at her husband's grave, and people see them together, her hand is forced; she decides to make their relationship public and invites Don Juan to dinner. The traditional scene, where the servant informs the Commandor's statue about his wife's dinner party, is ingenuously done. In most productions, the servant sees the statue hold a sheet of paper with the reply "Come. I await." in this production, the reply is received by way of the servant's eyes: he utters the same words, then turns around, facing the back stage, where the actual writing on the wall appears in Latin - "VENI ALIAVO." The stone Commandor is still the host and issues the orders.

During the dinner party when Anna is forced to admit her relationship with Juan, the family leaves immediately, disapproving of her behavior while she should still be in mourning. Left alone, Anna proceeds to disclose her plans for Juan to become the next commandor. She climbs onto a chair - reaching for the heights, and talks about her plans. All the while, Don Juan is sitting on a chair, while she stands. She manipulates him. Although she appears unsexed (as Lady Macbeth wanted to be), she nevertheless presses him to give up Dolores' ring, a symbol of Juan's last vestige of fidelity and honor. As he finally gives up the ring, he, in fact, gives up his freedom - his essential self.

The last time he is referred to as "Don Juan," is at the dinner party, and this is done in a cynical tone. Subsequently Dona Anna introduces him by all his other Spanish names; from then on, he is never referred to in the play as "Don Juan," just "Juan." We then come to understand the meaning of the pink and blue outfit that makes Don Juan look like a cute page. Don Juan is no longer a man, just an emasculated being. This is what most male protagonists in Ukrainka's plays are ultimately shown to be: spineless weaklings, who allow themselves to give in to conventions, expectations or manipulation by society. Such was Lukash in "Lisova Pisnia," Boiaryn in "Boiarynia" and to a large degree, Hryts in "Marusia Churai."

As Anna envelopes Juan in the Commandor's white cloak, there is the sudden clapping of castanets and a feeling of foreboding. When Don Juan looks in the mirror, he utters a primeval scream, and we are left only with the image of his frozen face. Having seen the dead Commandor in the mirror - Juan himself turns to stone. He becomes the Commandor. "Where am I? This is not me ... It is he ... the stone one!" are the play's final words. Church bells toll for both. A ray of light falls on Juan's face which now appears as a mask; Anna is forced to her knees in front of the statue.

Lady Macbeth lost all. So did the man who could not differentiate between freedom and power, freedom and responsibility, and dignity. Ukrainka hints at dignity. The double entendre of the Ukrainian word "volia," meaning both freedom and will power, is obviously important in this context, depending on what the meaning represents to Dona Anna and to Don Juan, who calls himself "a knight of freedom." That is why when Dona Anna downplays his freedom as licentiousness, Don Juan quickly adds that in this freedom "I had power."

As in symbolist poetry, there is another important play on words operative in the constant interchange of the adjectives "virnyi" (faithful) and "vilnyi" (free).

Mr. Kuchynsky displays the highest regard for the playwrights' texts. While leaving the texts intact, perhaps only rearranging the time sequence, he then provides his own unique interpretation of well-known works of literature. This is the case in "Marusia Churai," "The Grateful Erodii" and "Games for Faust," (the latter based on "Crime and Punishment"). It is always stimulating to see such interpretations and a challenge to find the keys to them.

In this production, Tetiana Kaspruk is perfectly cast as Dolores, she is most convincing and great in this role. Oleh Stefan as Don Juan brings touches of gentle cynicism and playfulness to the role, his eyes sparkling mischievously (especially in the second part). Yuri Mysak, in the role of Sganarel, Don Juan's servant, has a unique gift for such roles, giving them visibility, all the while delivering the cynical, jester-like truthful and poignant comments, and stressing specific issues which are pivotal to the play. Natalka Polovynka blooms as Dona Anna. Her playful and teasing tone, incorporeal lightness, and the haunting and ethereal quality of her voice, make her magnificent in the role. With Oleh Tsiona, Andriy Vodychev, Oleh Drach, Mariana Podoliak and Mr. Kuchynsky in the other roles - it makes for a great ensemble performance.

Masks play an important role in the production, not only in hiding the inner truth of the bearers, but as symbols (e.g., some masks are beaked, making society's gossip even sharper). Typical of the theater's productions, is the incorporation of music, singing and the use of instrumental music and castanets. With perfect timing they hint at events to come, at raised expectations, or at tension in the atmosphere. It also serves as a means of providing local color and setting a mood. Natalka Polovynka's voice can certainly do that and more. The music varies from that of medieval tunes, to church music, to contemporary music. All these elements provide for an excellent interpretation of Lesia Ukrainka's text of the Don Juan story.

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In an admirable gesture, the Les Kurbas Theater dedicated the staging of "Kaminnyi Hospodar" held at the Burgdorff Cultural Center in Maplewood, N.J., on March 1 to a 1966 production of the play staged a decade ago by Volodymyr Lysniak in New York. After the performance, Mr. Lysniak, Larysa Kukrytska, Olia Kyrychenko and Lidia Krushelnytska were honored by the Lviv actors. Also, Mrs. Krushelnytska was presented with a plaque from the Ukrainian Actors Union.

Dr. Larissa Onyshkevych of the Princeton Research Forum is a drama scholar who has written about the Les Kurbas Theater's interpretations of literature for Slavic and East European Performance.