In Kupalovsky – premiere: a new reading of Shamyakin’s work “Heart in the Palm”

Tomorrow, October 7, at the National Academic Theatre named after Yanka Kupala, the premiere of the drama “Heart in the Palm” based on the novel by Belarusian writer Ivan Shamyakin will take place. The director of the play, artistic director of the theater Dmitry Akimov told about the production and the new repertoire policy that Kupalovsky expects, the actors shared their thoughts about their characters, reports sb.by.

- At the moment, the theater has entered the period of its development, when we think about what should be our face and what priority from the point of view of repertory policy. This, of course, is Belarusian literature and drama. Shamyakin is a serious novelist. We took the "Heart in the Palm" material. In me, he found a response as an artist, director, said Dmitry Akimov.

- It will be a serious conversation with the audience and a serious statement of the theater. It seems to me that this is a certain step towards a new artistic level of Kupalovsky, says Dmitry Akimov.

The director and art director of the theater does not hide:

- With the play "Heart in the palm" begins a repertory transformation. In the future, repertoire policy will focus mainly on national culture and national literature. Thus, we will create a cultural and national code. No one has changed the history of theatre. We rely on her too. But the theater is not a museum. The theater should not rest on its laurels, it always looks forward and into the future, feels the pulse of time and era. Theatre is an institution that should be sensitive to modern cultural trends. We are now formulating our development strategy to 2031, five years ahead, to understand what results we want to see.

The main thing that the creative team would like to achieve is that the spectacle is perceived by the audience on a sensual and intellectual level. Actor Pavel Drakin noted that the working process, the preparation for the premiere, which gives a reference to the events of the Great Patriotic War, was interesting:

- I play a documentary writer, journalist Kirill Shikovic. He is impetuous, quick-tempered, carried away. He is a man who seeks to restore the truth of the past. Whether he wants to or not is a mystery.

- For me it is very light and thin, but at the same time struggling with circumstances. She has her own struggle, which begins due to inner impulses and because she wants to help others. She's a wonderful person. To reach her emotionally, to touch this pure soul I, as an actress, had to try.

- My hero Semyon Gukan is ambiguous. There's too much in this man. From a professional point of view, this may be one of the most interesting roles. I won’t tell you what kind of character he is. But I want him to be understood, his motivation, his actions, because he is not a bad person. And he knows how to love, and he defended his homeland. But being in certain circumstances, he committed an obscene act that gnaws and tortures him all his life. This fear, the fear that everything will be revealed, leads to the wrong steps. He makes them to leave everything as it is. I would like my character to feel sorry at the end of the story.

The human heart is the most important, small and fragile thing we have. Like the story of one life disfigured by another's lies. “Heart in the palm” is a work about faith and love: for oneself, people, family, work and truth. Love and faith that can save the world.

In the near future, the performance will be shown on October 7, 8, 11, and 13.