I first saw The Dragon in the mid-1980s, at the Theater Studio in the Southwest (Театр на Юго-Западе), with Viktor Avilov as Lancelot. I was so impressed by it that To Kill a Dragon, a 1988 film by Mark Zakharov, was practically bound to disappoint. So it did. (Zakharov himself set an impossibly high standard with An Ordinary Miracle, also based on a play by Schwartz and featuring the same great Aleksandr Abdulov, Oleg Yankovsky and Evgeny Leonov.)
I have to say that I am quite fond of dragons. They are wise and magnificent creatures and slaying a dragon is a heinous crime. The Dragon of Schwartz, of course, is not a dragon at all; it is an allegory of authoritarianism. Deposing a despot is not enough: we have to kill the dragon in each one of us.
But The Dragon is far from dull moralising. After all — and above all — it’s a comedy. The Burgomaster (post-dragon, the President of the Free City) and his son Heinrich (later, the burgomaster) are suitably creepy. So what? Don’t be afraid of these clowns: let’s laugh at them.
Генрих. Не хочешь ты, папочка, попросту, по душам, поговорить с единственным своим сыном! |
Heinrich. I can see, daddy, that you don’t want to speak to your only son honestly and sincerely. |
⬖ ⬖ ⬖ | ⬖ ⬖ ⬖ |
Бургомистр. Слушайте приказ. Во избежание эпидемии глазных болезней, и только поэтому, на небо смотреть воспрещается. Что происходит на небе, вы узнаете из коммюнике, которое по мере надобности будет выпускать личный секретарь господина дракона. |
Burgomaster. Listen here. In order to avoid an eye disease epidemic, and strictly because of that, it is hereby forbidden to look at the sky. You will learn of everything that is happening up there from communiqués that sir dragon’s personal secretary is going to be issuing from time to time as needed. |
⬗ ⬗ ⬗ | ⬗ ⬗ ⬗ |
Генрих. Жених, отвечай мне по чистой совести. Согласен ли ты взять в жёны эту девушку? |
Heinrich. Groom, answer me in good conscience. Do you agree take this girl to be your wedded wife? |
Евгений Шварц, «Дракон» | Evgeny Schwartz, The Dragon (translated by Yuri Machkasov) |
Schwartz wrote The Dragon in 1942—1944. After its première in 1944 at the Leningrad Comedy Theatre under direction of Nikolay Akimov, the play was immediately banned. Revived by Akimov in 1962, it was banned again after little more than one season. Soviet art bureaucrats saw The Dragon’s satire transcending any particular régime. And they were absolutely right: the play is as relevant today as it was 80 years ago.
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