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After performance
Impressions of oldest “TheaterGames” group’s play “The House of Bernarda Alba”
Masha Farber’s plays are always a celebration. Even when the play begins with a funeral and ends with suicide…
Only women participate in the play, but the real force behind the action, the “ray of light” in this dark kingdom, is Pepe el Romano, who, in Babel’s or Beckett’s tradition, does not even appear on stage.
On stage, the head of the household dominates—the powerful, merciless and terrifying Bernarda. This role is played by Katharina Smundak. It’s hard to fathom how a young woman could leave the audience with such a strong impression. Everything in her—from her harsh glances and unchallengeable tone to her domineering yells—truly inspire fear; it is impossible to disobey her.
The servant Poncia feels as though she is indebted to Bernarda. That, as well as her fear of being fired and left impverished, prevent her from an outright revolt. She knows more about all the intrigues that haunt the house than Bernarda, and understands her daughters’ plight better. All these qualities are communicated by Irina Goriatcheva’s wonderful acting.
Bernarda’s daughters, so different in personality, cannot leave the audience indifferent. Every one of them: the oldest, Angustias—Olga Reshetova, Magdalena—Sasha Maslova, Martirio—Anna Petrashen, Adela—Karina Solomonik, elicit a gamut of emotions in which that of compassion for their desperate fate dominates.
The role of Bernarda’s mother is a unmitigated success in Helen Bernstein’s rendition. A hapless senile old woman, her lamentations reflect a variety of emotions—from hatred and curses to touching gentleness and humor. They enliven the mood in the stifling and gloomy household.
The roles performed by Masha Simanovskaya, Marina Kalinina and Anna Friedland are well though-out, and each of the girls is able to bring to life her own character and manifest its individuality.
The musical introduction to each act helps the audience immerse itself in the small Andalusian village where the play’s tragic events are set. It is impossible to ignore the rifle which attracts attention to itself throughout the play, and which is fired, as is the custom in classical theater, at the end of the third act.
Behind each staging lies unbelievable labor. The exposure to classic theater, the memorization of pages of text, and the involvement in the school of theater enriches the life each of the participants!
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