DRAMATIST
VALENTIN KRASNOGOROV
AND HIS PLAYS
The name of
The creative dramatic skills of the author
span a wide arc. He has displayed a superb
mastery of many kinds of plays. Biting
satire, a keen sense of humor both grotesque and absurd, lyricism, and a
knowledge of the human heart - these are the main features of
The plays of V. Krasnogorov have been
directed by many prominent theater directors, such as Georgiy Tovstonogov, Lev
Dodin, Roman Viktyuk. His plays are held
in the permanent repertoire of many theatres and are sometimes played several
hundreds times. They are
enthusiastically received by audiences.
Critics noticed that "
Apart from drama, Valentin Krasnogorov has written
novellas, short stories and essays.
V. Krasnogorov is a member of A
Writers Guild and Theater Guild of Russia. His biopraghy is included in the dictionaries “Marquis Who’s Who in
the World”,
PLAYS AND SCREENPLAYS
Full texts of the play see http://krasnogorov.com/
Scenes from the plays see http://picasaweb.google.ru/valentin.krasnogorov/
A.
THE PLAYS TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH
LET'S
HAVE SEX! Every personage of this strange, absurd play
talks and thinks only about sex. But the frivolous title of this comedy is
delusive: the drama is complicated, tragic, and at the same time, amusing. It
is difficult to define the genre of this play. It may be called both a
psychological drama, and a theater of the absurd, a play that deals with
paradox, a philosophical play…. It may be defined as a comedy, but it will not
be a mistake to call it also a tragedy. The characters come from nowhere and
leave to nowhere. They are familiar to each other and at the same time seem to
see each other for the first time. There are 5 characters in the play: the
Husband, the Wife, the Sister, the Girl, and the Professor. They are quite real
and authentic. At the same time, it is difficult to understand, whether the
Wife really is someone’s wife, the Professor – a real professor, etc. There is
no plot in the traditional meaning of the word. The play is constructed on the
principle of a rondo: movement goes in a circle, or, more precisely, along a
spiral. The characters’ actions are motivated by loneliness, by their yearning
for love and emotion, their desire to escape from their problems. Or maybe all
these conversations are simply the product of a deranged mind? The play has
been staged in
SMALL
TRAGEDIES. - a triptych of short
plays of a keen philosophical content.
They are written in a very modern style with a great imaginative
force. The idea of the plays is how
difficult it is for people to hear and understand each other. An unusual
theatrical form arouses great audience interest. The play was first presented by the famous
Big Drama Theatre in
THE DELIGHTS OF
ADULTERY. – A trio of skillfully interconnected short
plays which offer three contrasting scenes from the life of a lovers'
couple. The plays may be presented
either singly (as is done in the world famous Big Drama Theatre in
THE DOG.
There are 3 characters in this drama:
a man, a woman and ... a dog (who is to be played by a child or by an
actress). The action turns on a simple
premise: the man wants to have his dog
killed and leads it to a veterinary station, where the woman works. The dog hinders his lifestyle - but can love and faithfulness hinder anybody? Character of the woman - biting, and sometimes aggressive, but unselfish, ready to
love and to help - determined the play's
title. This touching play is presented
by many theatres with great success.
A Note From the Director Howard Fishman:
“The American Theater Company is proud to
introduce itself to
My feeling for The Dog has not
changed since my first encounter with it several years ago, when I read it on
the advice of its translator while living in
There is no hero or villain here. We are them
and they are us. We all have our different ideas of what life and love mean, of
what is necessary to achieve “happiness”. At one time or another, we all had to
lie in the dark and face the fury of our conscience. We make choices in life,
and for better or worse, we turn around one day to discover that our lives may
be defined by these choices. There is no right or wrong, there is simply
decision and consequence. We justify, we rationalize, and, sometimes, we even
believe ourselves. It the end it is we who must live and abide by those choices
we make, which is perhaps the greatest judgment of all. Or the damnedest.
I hope you enjoy the play.”
This play combines elements of drama and comedy.
Bride and groom, who are also successful business partners,
are forced by circumstances to offer a total stranger (an aging, oddly behaving
man) the role of a witness in their wedding ceremony. To kill time, the young
couple asks their witness to tell them about women he loved. The result turns
out to be quite unexpected. This accidental meeting dramatically changes the
fates of all three characters.
The play is performed in several countries with great
success.
3 characters: 2 males, 1 female.
B. THE PLAYS
IN RUSSIAN
A CRUEL LESSON. Drama about social and
psychological roots of cruelty, about the invisible line dividing moral actions
from immoral ones. A real psychological experiment, which has been carried out
in the
A PARTY AFTER THE PREMIERE. A “black” comedy. At a
theatre a long-awaited premiere of Shakespeare’s “Othello” has just been
played. The actors - performers of the leading roles remain after performance
on the scene in order to celebrate this event in a friendly circle.
Unfortunately, the holiday is saddened with mysterious death of one of the
actors, and there is a suspicion, that someone of the participants can be
involved in this crime. Sometimes gloomy, sometimes cheerful humor, detective
intrigue, abrupt turns of the plot and an unexpected final attract the
attention of the spectators up to the latest moment. 4 men and 3 women . Interior.
A NIGHT IN A HOTEL. A man and a woman get acquainted late
at night in a hotel restaurant, and the initiative in this acquaintance is
shown by the woman. It is very difficult to understand, who is this strange beautiful
woman: a street-walker or refined adventurer. The man can not understand,
whether she likes him, or plays with him, or simply wants to earn. The verbal
duel of these characters reflects their mutual attraction and repulsion, their
loneliness and aspiration to overcome it, their desire and fear of love. 1 man and 1 woman. Interior.
GOLD AVALANCHE. A small city receives a gift
of billion dollars (as it is in the well-known play of Durrenmatt «The Visit of
the Old Lady»). A question is now what will be further. 25 characters. If necessary, the play can be performed by 10-15
actors, because each of them can play several roles.
AN INVITATION TO A MURDER. A classic
detective play. 6 members of parliament come for a week-end to a lonely remote
villa to discuss a hard political situation. A series of unexpected murders
takes place at this secluded home. 6
men and 3 women. Interior.
IMMODEST DESIRES. A comedy with elements
of grotesque. Its personages, mainly women, dream of personal happiness, but
find something other than what they expected. Realities of hasty life of
business and practical XXI century force them to say goodbye to the ideals of
the past. 2 men, 5 (3) women (three roles can be
played by one actress).
LOVE MEDICINE. The story of this ironical comedy takes
place at the time of the Golden Age of Spain, with its duels, serenades
etc. In reality it is a very modern play
about love. This clever, hilarious,
high-spirited comedy is a long-run success in many drama and musical
theatres. 7 men, 3 women. Exterior .
NOT TOMORROW, BUT SOON. A grotesque distopic comedy. The protagonist
finds himself in unfamiliar and strange surroundings, while seeming equaly
strange to the people around. The main question is whether the maddness
afflicts the protagonist himself, or the society surrounding him. 9 male
roles, 2 female roles. If nessecary the male roles could be played by a smaller
number of actors.
NOW OR NEVER (PROCESSION OF GNOMES). An
investigation of modern marriage in the form of a brilliant comedy, bitter and
very funny. The critics appreciated the
"keen sense and wit of this hilarious, but clever and warning play",
its "well-made construction and sparkling dialogue". The story. A man (about 30) and his wife invite their
friend and girl friend to a party. The four are interconnected with complicated
love relationships and each of them wants to sort out his future: tonight or
never. 2 men and 2 women. Interior .
SEVERAL HOURS IN THE LIFE OF A MAN AND A
WOMAN.- a sad and funny comedy. This
warm and rich play, full of compassion and understanding of the human heart,
was presented with great success at the prestigious
SHOW-BOOTH. A modern play in the style of Commedia
SILENT
SOMEONE MUST LEAVE. A sharp satire, written in a grotesque,
almost absurd manner. Quick, witty,
unexpected dialogue in a "staccato" style adds a particular charm to
the comedy. The story. 7 employees work at an office and all of them
- except one talented shy young man - are doing nothing. But - sudden news! -
one of the staff is to be discharged. After a desperate struggle and complicated
intrigues it is discovered that the only man who really does his work has to be
let go. 4 men, 3 women in an interior setting.
SONG OF SONGS. - A play based on the Bible
story about the king Salomo. 7 men and 2 women.
THAT WEAK GENTLE GENDER. - set of two very funny short plays. These well-constructed, fast-moving farces,
reminding us of the times of Rabelais and Le Sage, are staged with success by
many drama and musical theatres. The
story.
THE BEILIS CASE. A theatrical representation
of a world-famous criminal trial which took place in 1913. Beilis, a Jew from
THE BRIDE'S ROOM. - dramatic comedy. Only women (aged from 15
to 70) act. in this unusual play. The
bride, her mother, sister, and girl-friends, as well as other women - relatives
of the bridegroom - are gathering in the "bride's room" of a palace
for marriage registration (as it is customary in the
THE GATES OF HEAVEN. Several men and women are fighting to the
death one with another… for what? They do not know! 5 men and 4 women . Exterior.
THE LEGS OF WOMAN #2. Screenplay. A
fantasmagory story from the life of contemporary
THE
THE LOVE TO DISTRACTION. A
comedy. A man, suffering from loss of memory, comes to a doctor. The doctor
tries to find out symptoms and reasons of the disease, but unsuccessfully: the
answers of the patient are so inconsistent that it is impossible to understand
anything. Fortunately, the doctor manages to invite the wife of the patient. She
answers all questions clearly and confidently, but from her explanations
follows that the doctor himself suffers from loss of memory. The situation is
even more confused when another woman comes unexpectedly and declares as well,
that she is the spouse of the patient. The situation becomes completely absurd.
The doctor is almost going mad. This dynamical and ridiculous comedy is
developing promptly and vividly, coming to an unexpected end. 3 men, 2
women. Interior.
THE RENDEZVOUS ON WEDNESDAYS. Satirical play with a farcical
plot in the style of French la piece bien faite – "well-made play".
The adultery intrigue is combined with a
passionate desire of the personages to make their career. The plays won a grand
success in the theaters. 3 men, 3 women in an interior setting.
THE SWAN SONG. A synthesis of ironic, almost absurd
comedy and melodrama. The main personages
of the play are in the age of summing up. 2 men, 10 women in an interior
setting.
THE WOMAN WHO DID NOT
EXIST. Screenplay. There is a
surprising episode in the history of the Papacy which has caused many legends
and disputes. It is known that only a man can be elected as the Pope. However a
legend asserts that once a woman, having given herself out to be a man, became
the Pope and successfully occupied the Holy See during ten years. To be a head
of the Christian world was a hard task in those years. However, the ruling of
the Papesse was very successful. The history informs us only about the major
results of the church and political activity of this exclusive woman. However,
we know nothing about papesse's private life, about her character, about her
road to the power. Therefore, the story about her course of life, about her
love and sufferings, about her dizzy ascension to the top of the world public
pyramid is only a subject of the art fiction based on the realities of that
time. The screenplay reflects the main steps of the heroine's life: youth, the
first love, her decision to pretend to be a man, her struggle for the Holy See,
her election as the Pope and her activity in this quality, her searches for
happiness. The screenplay gives a good material for an actress. She has a rare
opportunity to play both the woman and the man in a serious non-standard role.
THEATRICAL COMEDY. An evening performance of
a classical play of ХVШ age has already began, but the performer of one of the main
roles has not yet come. He is urgently replaced by another actor, who doesn’t
know the role. It results with numerous tragicomic situations. The plot
is complicated with personal conflicts Love, hate, envy, jealousy and flirt of
the actors give an additional colour to the comical plot. 3 men and 1 woman.
THREE-CORNERED ROLLS. - a purimspiel.
4 men and 1 woman.
Contacts:
Tel. +7-812-699-3701; +-812-550-2146
+7-951-689-3-689 (cell.)
e-mail: valentin.krasnogorov@gmail.com
The site: