Intrigue of life and death of Gogol

Ilyina Gensitzkaya, DELO

Mystic “The Death of Gogol” got up by Vlad Troitskyi sanctified Artistic Arsenal and became the beginning of grandiose celebrating of the writer’s jubilee in frames of “GOGOLFEST”. The play was performed in Old Arsenal – the building reminding a temple and a crypt at the same time.

If Pushkin is everything for Russia and Shevchenko is everything for Ukraine, it is not that simple with Gogol on the threshold of bicentenary from his birth. Perhaps, that’s the first time when we celebrate Gogol’s jubilee in Ukraine not at the time of memorable date and not afterwards but a year and a half before that. This is the precedent.

Without any provincial complexes Vladislav Troitskyi together with a troupe of his theatre Dakh tried to give another meaning to versions having to do with death of world famous Poltava province native. It is often that Ukrainian staging falter and stop on Gogol’s bowery stories. There is nothing bad in that. But paraphrasing one idiom, what is folklore pep for German is a death for Slav.  

The story with Troitskyi is different. Strictly speaking, this director is obviously stands out on a dull background of Ukrainian direction not just because of the strongly pronounced style which, as it is known, characterizes a man but because of his way of thinking. For instance, he succeeded in combining ethnic traits of Ukraine and Japan dressing it all with ritual act and Shakespearian text.

The play “The Death of Gogol” confirmed it once again. The cooperation of Dakh with KLIM is a usual thing. And this play was not an exception. Those few monologues taken from Gogol that sounded in the play were turned into drama scenario by the old coauthor of Troitskyi. Though, scanty verbal line will hardly help those who are not that familiar to Gogol’s biography. But bright and bewitching visual picture can force to turn to this very biography.

And the play included its most recondite and intriguing moments – burning of a second volume of “Dead Souls”, devotion bordering verges on insanity, boundless love to mother and unsuccessful private life, entombment in a state of coma and opening of the grave. They say that a man can infinitely look at three things: fire, water and other people working. There was more than enough water in Artistic Arsenal, a fire was burning and work of Dakh actors is known to its admirers not by hearsay. Reactions of spectators who saw Dakh’s creativity for a first time – from puzzled smiles to concentration. From incomprehension to approval.

All together created the atmosphere of Gogol’s mysticism. “The Death of Gogol” is one of rare Kiev’s plays that would be good to watch for everybody who tried on “Gogol’s greatcoat” at least once in his life.