Love torment and insidious plans: the actors of the theater named after M. Gorky played the play “Dog in the hay”

The preview of the play “Dog in the hay” was organized in the Palace of Culture of Trade Unions on October 7, reports the correspondent of the agency “Minsk-Novosti”.

Lope de Vega’s play The Dog in the Manger takes place in the palace of Countess Diana de Belflore. She is used to controlling every person in her home. Over time, the hostess learns that her secretary is in love with the maid. Instead of firing him, he tries to fall in love with himself. Over time, cold calculation turns into interest, and then into obsession. Poor Teodoro is between two fires. He does not know who to choose: a simple girl whom he loves very much, or a fatal countess.

- The play is versed. They hardly do that today. It's very difficult. Here, it was not so much action as understanding and competent interpretation of meanings that are transmitted through the dialogues of the characters. I believe that Lope de Vega wrote this story as opposed to the real one, which ended tragically. The prototype of Countess Diana was Giovanna d’Aragona, Duchess of Amalfi (granddaughter of King Ferdinand I of Naples). She fell in love with the secretary, they secretly married, they had children. But the noble relatives dealt with the beloved. The author decided to slightly turn the narrative. He loved life, so the book ended well. This is a dramatic work, but it should not be perceived as a super-tragedy. After watching the show, you can laugh. One of the heroes will light a spark inside, the other will not be able to forget the offense. If a person truly loves, he can forgive. And this is a very important skill, said director Valentina Erenkova.

The work of Lope de Vega is very large in size. But despite this, the director tried to hear and understand what the man who put his thoughts, heart and perhaps even pain in the written lines wanted to say. She kept all the key moments of the play.

- It is necessary to treat all authors very carefully and carefully. A lot of directors interpret the stories of the past in a modern way. I don't do that. The dog in the hay does not need to be moved from the palace to the office. It will be relevant at all times. From the Stone Age to the present day, love between a man and a woman, for the Motherland, animals, nature are eternal themes. I shortened the play, but tried not to "cripple" the material. Saved the plot, the storyline, and also supplemented it with a musical series, based on the dramaturgy itself, added V. Erenkova.

The director is sure that many viewers will cry. But at the same time, there's a lot to think about. Gorky Theater is under renovation, so the actors did not have a permanent place for rehearsals. For a month, they managed to organize only weekly rehearsals on third-party venues.

- It was small rooms, vacant spaces, a gym, where it was very cold, but during the game we warmed up. Our entire troupe was brought together by this production, the director noted.

Young people who graduated from the Belarusian State Academy of Arts, who studied at the course of Sergey Kovalchik, perform their duty to the Motherland. They're taken into the army. Three people were employed in this show. Then V. Erenkova as a teacher of the Belarusian State Academy of Arts invited 3rd year students to participate in the play with the consent of the artistic director of the theater.

- It is important to study, but the fact that students have the opportunity to experience the stage of professional theater and participate in the production, rather than watching the plot from the auditorium, is very valuable. Within a month and a half, young people joined the show. Our team is happy to welcome new actors. They easily found a common language and always helped each other, Yerenkova said.

The audience was able to hear not only the poems of Lope de Vega, but also the poetry of other authors. For example, the poem “I and You” by Nikolai Gumilev.

- That's an interesting interpretation. I watched the Soviet film “Dog in the manger” (1977) by Jan Fried and involuntarily compared with the play. I want to point out that the production does not lose at all. The director included new words, songs. I loved the performance of the male half of the actors and actress who played the maid Marcela. I do not want to offend the main character, but I miss a little devil in her game, shared the viewer Svetlana.

The premiere of the performance will take place on October 8 at the Palace of Culture of Trade Unions.

Photo by Alexander Gorbash