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Anna Karenina
Event by: Mestské divadlo Žilina
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Theatre, Exhibitions
About event
An intimate and original treatment of one of L. N. Tolstoy's most famous novels. A tragic carousel of relationships rushing in search of love and happiness in life. A production dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Žilina Municipal Theater.
Anna, longing for love, runs away from an unfulfilled marriage into the arms of Vronsky. She soon sobers up from the strong intoxication of passion and is haunted by pain that cannot be treated with morphine. Štefan causes Daša suffering with his infidelities, but she does not find the strength to run away and forgives him. Young Kitty loved Vronsky, but he hurt her, and still doubting Levin loves Kitty, who hurt him in turn. In the end, however, Kitty finds protection and love in Levin's mighty arms, which she did not need before, blinded by Vronsky.
Playwright Armin Petras points out in his contemporary adaptation of the novel Anna Karenina the tragedy of all relationships. Armin Petras made several significant changes. He decided to create a very intimate version, reduced to seven main characters. This created a crazy carousel of relationships rushing in search of life's happiness and fulfillment. The author moved the plot of the story from the 19th century to the present. The highly modern language of contemporary drama dominates the adaptation. Many believe that the main theme of the novel is the condemnation of Anna by Russian society for her infidelity and abandonment of her young son. Armin Petras does not consider this topic to be the main one and decided not to address social issues in the adaptation. What happens if we delete it? Will Anna Karenina stop being Anna Karenina? Nope. Nowadays, we have gotten rid of the taboo of extramarital affairs, but we have not gotten rid of the reasons for which Anna throws herself under the train. A woman in an unhappy marriage still feels guilty for having an affair with someone else. She may still lose contact with her child. And she will still be perceived negatively in the eyes of those around her. By eliminating old-fashioned Russian society, Petras underscores its contemporary treatment. He was able to recognize very well what the timelessness of Tolstoy's novel is based on. Social conventions change every time with the change of times. Human desires, persistent passions and, above all, the conscience, which must make a decision, remain.
The spatial solution of the production was created by scenographer Juraj Kuchárek. It consists of a stylized stage space of a fragment of the facade of the Moscow train station in St. Petersburg. "Basically, it's a climbing frame," said J. Kuchárek at the first reading test. It consists of a large slope on which you can stand and sit, and the windows of the station are also used as entrances to the scene. In the second half of the production, the station becomes one large canvas on which Vronsky will paint.
"The station, which here is a symbol of the journey, arrivals, departures, transfer station, the place where everything begins and ends tragically. The fragment is a slice of reality transferred to an artificial theatrical environment, as well as the language of drama, which alternates epic passages with theatrical dialogues. Monologues of characters standing in place, on oblique surface, that is, constantly balancing on the ground of a relationship, but also of material security. The seven characters talk, love, talk, and so on. Is it too late to get off? The train station as a metaphor for life and trying to find the right way. (Director Marian Amsler)
Anna, longing for love, runs away from an unfulfilled marriage into the arms of Vronsky. She soon sobers up from the strong intoxication of passion and is haunted by pain that cannot be treated with morphine. Štefan causes Daša suffering with his infidelities, but she does not find the strength to run away and forgives him. Young Kitty loved Vronsky, but he hurt her, and still doubting Levin loves Kitty, who hurt him in turn. In the end, however, Kitty finds protection and love in Levin's mighty arms, which she did not need before, blinded by Vronsky.
Playwright Armin Petras points out in his contemporary adaptation of the novel Anna Karenina the tragedy of all relationships. Armin Petras made several significant changes. He decided to create a very intimate version, reduced to seven main characters. This created a crazy carousel of relationships rushing in search of life's happiness and fulfillment. The author moved the plot of the story from the 19th century to the present. The highly modern language of contemporary drama dominates the adaptation. Many believe that the main theme of the novel is the condemnation of Anna by Russian society for her infidelity and abandonment of her young son. Armin Petras does not consider this topic to be the main one and decided not to address social issues in the adaptation. What happens if we delete it? Will Anna Karenina stop being Anna Karenina? Nope. Nowadays, we have gotten rid of the taboo of extramarital affairs, but we have not gotten rid of the reasons for which Anna throws herself under the train. A woman in an unhappy marriage still feels guilty for having an affair with someone else. She may still lose contact with her child. And she will still be perceived negatively in the eyes of those around her. By eliminating old-fashioned Russian society, Petras underscores its contemporary treatment. He was able to recognize very well what the timelessness of Tolstoy's novel is based on. Social conventions change every time with the change of times. Human desires, persistent passions and, above all, the conscience, which must make a decision, remain.
The spatial solution of the production was created by scenographer Juraj Kuchárek. It consists of a stylized stage space of a fragment of the facade of the Moscow train station in St. Petersburg. "Basically, it's a climbing frame," said J. Kuchárek at the first reading test. It consists of a large slope on which you can stand and sit, and the windows of the station are also used as entrances to the scene. In the second half of the production, the station becomes one large canvas on which Vronsky will paint.
"The station, which here is a symbol of the journey, arrivals, departures, transfer station, the place where everything begins and ends tragically. The fragment is a slice of reality transferred to an artificial theatrical environment, as well as the language of drama, which alternates epic passages with theatrical dialogues. Monologues of characters standing in place, on oblique surface, that is, constantly balancing on the ground of a relationship, but also of material security. The seven characters talk, love, talk, and so on. Is it too late to get off? The train station as a metaphor for life and trying to find the right way. (Director Marian Amsler)