The play “Bench” was written in 1983. It was staged by many theaters, many actors played, not only in Russia but also abroad. This play has long been translated from Russian and has been successfully performed on the stages of many countries of the world. Reviews of the play “Bench” will be considered later.
The author and his play
The play “Bench”, according to reviews, is interesting to the audience. It was written by Alexander Gelman, a Soviet, Russian playwright and publicist, author of many books, articles and scripts, a public and political figure. His play has become famous not only in our country, but also abroad.
What is so attractive in this work? What makes it understandable, painfully “your own”, familiar, not only for our domestic, but also for a foreign audience? Why is a play from the Soviet past, with the long gone realities of being, still relevant and in demand today? Why is it so often put on the stages of different cities of Russia and not only?
The thing is that this play is about simple and understandable things. Her characters are real and recognizable. Relations between men and women are an eternal topic. Therefore, the story told in The Bench is interesting to spectators and actors everywhere. A. Gelman himself called this play “a bitter and funny story about how He and She went from mutual lies to mutual sincerity”.
Plot
The play “Bench” in Moscow collects numerous reviews. Viewers are interested in the plot. In the culture park named after Zurupa, two people meet. He is a womanizer and lover of flirting. She is a divorcee, raising one little son and dreaming of simple female happiness - a loving husband and a strong family.
And, as it turned out, this is not their first meeting on this bench. The whole story, in fact, unfolds only because once it already became his next victim. Once he swore love to her, promised to buy a bicycle for his son, and in the morning he simply disappeared.
A second meeting in the park literally “blew up” their life. To win Vera, Fedor lies shamelessly, piling one lie on another. Vera has a difficult task - to reveal Fedor’s deception and again not to fall under his male charm. When she manages to bring him to clean water, the revealed truth does not bring her joy - Fedor is married.
And after talking with Vera, Fedor suddenly realizes how much he is in love with his wife. It turns out that all the love affairs of this burnt womanizer is just a way to assert itself and drown out the all-consuming jealousy and crazy love for his wife.
This conversation on a park bench, this eternity evening helps the heroes to penetrate each other with spiritual sympathy and, according to the author himself, become close people. After all, despite all its external dissimilarity (the mysterious Fedor, who constantly changes his name and biography for each new woman, and the simple, open Faith, rushing into a new relationship, each time believing that this is forever), the characters are actually very similar . These are lost people who roam the park in search of new self-deception.
Actors
The performance "Bench" for many years was staged by various directors and played by many actors in different parts of the country. Of recent productions, the work of director Nikita Grinshpun with the participation of G. Kutsenko and I. Apeksimova should be noted.
According to reviews, the play “Bench” by Kutsenko and Apeksimov is clear, conveying to the viewer a wide range of feelings: from love and tenderness to hatred and rejection. For an hour and a half that takes place, the actors live with their characters a lifetime. Not every professional can cope with such a task. The play "Bench" Kutsenko, according to reviews, plays out brilliantly. The actor himself likes this role very much. Not inferior to him in the game and partner.
Irina Apeksimova in an interview said with what pleasure she worked on the role of Vera. She had long been looking for a suitable play among contemporary drama, but could not find anything suitable. All the work seemed to her too light, shallow and fragmentary. The play “Bench” compares favorably with the depth of design and beautifully drawn images of the characters.
The staging and acting turned the usual situation into a very touching and soulful story, funny and sad at the same time. And this is the main merit of the actors.
"Bench" in the "Snuffbox"
This performance is a very popular piece. Many directors willingly undertake the production of this play, and not only in different cities. The play “Bench” was recently staged in Moscow in the theater studio of O. Tabakov.
Director Alexei Muradov chose F. Lavrov and N. Shvets as heroes. This production has become a premiere for both performers and the theater. The play “Bench” in the Snuff-box gathered favorable reviews from the audience. The audience noted the soulful play of the actors, forcing the audience to live with them, laugh and sympathize with the heroes and for a long time to discuss the problems raised in the play.
Reviews
Theater critics have long credited Alexander Gelman's play “Bench” in the masterpieces of social drama, and the author is rightly considered the most famous and sought-after playwright of the Soviet era. The play does not lose its relevance to this day, because it tells about eternal, universal values. No wonder it is so attractive to directors and is staged so often even during one theatrical season on the stages of various theaters.
The play “Bench” with the participation of the duet Apeksimov-Kutsenko caused a greater resonance among the theater community and gathered more positive reviews. Critics note the convincing, soulful play of the actors and their deep immersion in the material.
Viewers reviews
The play “Bench” receives numerous and enthusiastic reviews. The game of actors is organic, emotions are strong, the degree of impact on the viewer is high. Actors keep the audience in emotional tension for the continuation of the whole performance and even after it.
The story told by the author, director and actors, "does not let go" of the viewer and beyond the threshold of the theater, makes him think about eternal values, about love and loneliness, about the relationship between a man and a woman. The play “Bench”, according to many viewers, is worth attention. It’s worth going to this production.
Having examined the reviews of the play “Bench”, the plot and the cast, we can say that the performance deserves great attention of the audience.