2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Swing is a symbol. A symbol of impermanence, first of all. Attempts to escape from the past lead the protagonist to a new relationship full of absurdity, from the moment they met and ending with parting, and consisting of stunning ups and downs.

Gibson's play "Two on a Seesaw" lives on the stages of different theaters all over the world with the same success.

Broadway Story

The work was written in the middle of the last century. Drama of two loving hearts. The rushing lawyer Jerry and the failed dancer Gitel are brought together by chance. After a party at a mutual friend's where Jerry likes Gitel, he finds her phone and asks for a date on the pretext of buying a refrigerator. Jerry is married, he is trying to break off relations with his wife and start all over again, including his career, but he does not succeed, and even after the official divorce, Jerry returns to his wife, leaving Gitel alone. Their parting is tragic - he and she love, but it is impossible to be together. The final dialogue of the play Loversthey devote to various little things, Jerry explains to Gitel how to contact him, asks to call him when help is needed, and only at the very end, for the first time, he says that he loves her. Gitel smiles, trying to hide her sobs, and the first one hangs up.

Throughout the story, the characters experience the strongest feelings - from hatred to all-consuming love. Swing up, swing down…

Variations on a theme

“Two on a Swing” performed by Russian actors gather full houses not only in the post-Soviet space, but also abroad. Several famous Russian theaters put on the play "Two on a Swing". Feedback from viewers about what they saw is only positive. Of course, what happens on the stage largely depends on the actors, but without the director's talent it is impossible to play a good work. Despite the fact that the performances in different theaters are staged by one work, each pair of actors plays in their own way, adding lines somewhere, removing lines somewhere. The director builds the outline of events the way he feels it, while the actors skillfully translate his idea into a great action.

Contemporary

The Sovremennik Theater was the first to stage the play in 1962. "Two on a swing" received the warmest reviews. For 30 years, while Galina Borisovna Volchek staged the play, the actors changed, but the theater always gathered full houses.

Returning again to the beloved plot of the audience, the director does not deviate from tradition. Performancestaged in the spirit of psychological theater, as a sign of respect for the work of Sovremennik. A minimum of scenery, each of which is a symbol. The main one, of course, is the phone. He is that thin thread between the characters that connects them at the beginning of the play, and which breaks at the end. The play "Two on a Swing" receives reviews not only about the wonderful direction and acting, the audience also highly appreciated the music, which wonderfully complements the action. Frank Sinatra immerses us in the atmosphere of those years, carefully chosen compositions completely fall into the theme of what is happening on stage.

Loy alty to tradition

The play "Two on a Swing" ("Contemporary") itself, the audience's feedback about it once again proves that the director was not mistaken, returning to a long-played story. Despite the fact that Galina Volchek staged the performance, practically without changing anything, nevertheless, some innovations appeared in the production. Neon, which did not exist in the 60s, and lighting, symbolizing the bright lights of New York, add tragedy to the production. The play of light helps to feel the mood of the characters deeper.

Fresh forces

To the actors who played the play "Two on a Swing" ("Contemporary"), the reviews of the audience, who remember the production of past years, are enthusiastic. Many say that they could hardly hold back tears, the game was so heartfelt. Galina Borisovna was not mistaken here either. The choice of actors is another difference between past performances and this new production. Previously, only actors from the theater troupe took part in it. In the new production, Gitel plays the hosttheater actress - Chulpan Khamatova, but Jerry was invited from the set.

Actor Kirill Safonov starred mainly in serials. A favorite of many viewers, Kirill opened up from a completely new, unfamiliar side and did not disappoint. About the play "Two on a Swing" "Sovremennik" receives reviews from the very first days of the production, mainly these are opinions about the actors' play. The talented duet in the first act makes the audience laugh heartily at the sharp phrases and jokes, at Jerry's awkwardness, and in the second - cry, watching the mental anguish of the characters.

Chulpan once again confirmed her skills. Thin, graceful, in a turquoise suit with a fluffy skirt that emphasizes her thin waist - another symbol of fragility. It's not for nothing that Jerry calls her Cub all the time. She does not play - she lives in this role. This is not just a role, this is a dedication to Galina Chalikova. She was the founder of the Give Me Life Foundation and died of cancer three years ago. It was she, according to Chulpan, who was capable of such sacrificial love.

Not so long ago, an updated version was released, and the performance "Two on a Swing" (Sovremennik Theatre), reviews of grateful spectators about which told a lot of good things, gained great popularity among theatergoers. The hall is always full, tickets are sold out instantly, despite the rather high cost.

Railwayman's House of Culture

Another Moscow theaterwho decided to stage the play "Two on a Swing" - TsDKZh. Feedback from the audience about this production says that the director Andrey Kiryushchenko did an excellent job.

The choice of actors was unexpected. The role of Gitel was wonderfully played by Tatyana Arntgolts, and Jerry was wonderfully presented by Grigory Antipenko. The new role revealed remarkable talents. Grigory in his role actively used facial expressions and gestures, which significantly distinguished his game from the more restrained game of Safonov. Jerry at Gregory turned out to be more emotional. Frankly, comparing the game of the two actors is not entirely correct. Everyone has their own charisma. And it cannot be similar to one another, staged by different creative teams, the play "Two on a Swing".

Reviews even from those viewers who attended not only the premiere, but also later productions of one theater, are different. The audience claims that the same remark sounds completely different. The skill of the actors is honed every time, roughness and minor inaccuracies disappear.

Field for creativity

Many viewers read the play and watched the old American musical Two on a Swing before going to the theatre. The performance received the best reviews. The audience unanimously recognized that both the actors and the director did a very great job. In both versions, it was both easy and difficult for the actors at the same time. It is difficult because not a single video recording from rehearsals or from the performance of past years has survived, there was no support. On the other hand, this is a big plus, there is an opportunity for creativity. Each of the actors showedthe hero he imagines. Played the way my heart told me.

From series to big stage

The role played in the play "Two on a Swing" by Arntgolts received excellent reviews. Tatyana was very organic: the final scene, where she sobs, throwing down the phone, did not leave any spectator indifferent. During this farewell dialogue, many men in the audience wiped away tears.

The play "Two on a Swing" received reviews not only from Moscow theatergoers, but also from residents of different cities in Russia and abroad.

Jerry and Gitel performed by Antipenko and Arntgolts tour a lot, and performances are held in all cities with a full house. Through these roles, they managed to shed the label of "soap opera actor" and win the love of a new, much larger audience.

What will Peter say?

Not only Moscow theaters give a real celebration of feelings to the audience who came to the performance "Two on a Swing". Reviews "Comedian Shelter" received quite restrained, to match the cool St. Petersburg climate. Director Veniamin Felshtinsky interpreted the famous Broadway musical in his own way. But this did not prevent the performance from receiving well-deserved awards.

Elena Kalinina in the role of Gitel and Oleg Fedorov, and earlier - Dmitry Vorobyov, have achieved great success on the stage of the St. Petersburg theater "Comedian's Shelter". The performance was first presented to the public in 2004, and since then it has been performed 150 times. CostsIt should be noted that the production of the play by this particular director received the Golden Sofit award in the Best Ensemble nomination and became a participant in the St. Petersburg Theater Season in Prague in 2007. And although the performance “Two on a Swing” “Comedian's Shelter” received not as many reviews as about performances in Moscow theaters, the audience of St. Petersburg fell in love with this play. The halls are always full, the actors are not allowed to leave the stage for a long time, rewarding with a flurry of applause.

Thanks to such talented actors and directors, the art of acting continues to live. And no matter what they say, going to the theater, live communication with actors, genuine emotions will never force this art out of our lives.