Russian playwright Grigory Gorin delivers a modern interpretation of Greek tragedy.
By: Amy Brummer
A temple burns to the ground. The city is devastated, the people terrorized. The perpetrator taunts them: "Who is the architect of the Temple of Artemis? You don’t know! But you will never forget Herostratus who burned it to the ground."
It is a chilling proclamation by a man who has made a break from the social contract, an anti-hero who capitalizes on his infamy to further destroy the world around him. On Oct. 8, Bristol Riverside Theatre will open Forget Herostratus by Russian playwright Grigory Gorin, a work steeped in ideological criticism and social satire.
Brought to life by Armenian Director Armen Khandikian, it is the second play produced at Bristol through the U.S.-Armenian Cultural Exchange Program. Conceived by Bristol Riverside Artistic Director Edward Keith Baker, the program provides an opportunity for the Armenian theater community to share a tradition with deeply sown roots but little international recognition. This stems largely from the country’s emergence from Soviet rule with a devastated economy and legacy of isolation.
But that did not stop the arts from flowering. It became a way to reclaim and nurture the culture during difficult times. Mr. Baker recognized that power during a state-sponsored visit to Armenia in 2001. He believed American and Armenian directors could benefit from the exchange by sharing ideas and gaining new insights.
During Mr. Baker’s visit, he met Mr. Khandikian, director of the Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and the Fine Arts, who was presenting Herostratus at that time. "We realized that we had many similar views on important issues," recalls Mr. Khandikian, speaking through a translator.
The pair put plans in motion to bring the entire cast to the United States for its American debut in Bristol. After Sept. 11, this became impossible. Instead, Mr. Khandikian agreed to work with an American cast using a translator, Vahagn Petrosyan.
"He knows the play so well and conveys so much emotion when he is directing that the language barrier has not been a real issue," says Bristol Riverside’s founder and Producing Director Susan Atkinson.
It is this bold, expressive style that has been referred to as the "Khandikian School" in his native country. Bringing that talent here has been enlightening for Mr. Khandikian, who is able to see the play through new eyes.
"Here, being in a new country, working in a new environment with new actors, a lot of things have acquired new meaning for me," Mr. Khandikian says. "For instance, Herostratus. Gorin, the author, has created a very interesting character. He is spreading terror and terrorizing all over, but in the monologues, the character seems to be split in two.
"On one hand he is telling the audience all of the terrible things he’s done. On the other hand he is teaching them, saying to them, ‘Look inside you, don’t you have all of the negative traits I do? And if you do, isn’t it better to find out quickly and try to suppress them?’ He doesn’t do this by preaching directly to the audience, but through actions, showing them the consequences."
Herostratus is a master manipulator, using brutal honesty as a shield and weapon. It is a difficult undertaking to make the audience invest in a character who is so profoundly unrepentant and unredeemable, but this is Mr. Baker’s task. He draws on the power of the character to reflect the negative forces that pulse through life.
"I think the thing that Herostratus illustrates is that he has become unafraid of his utter humanness," Mr. Baker says. "He has broken the chains of propriety. He has said ‘I’m free.’ When he has learned that it is not God, but it is himself that is the power, then he has the capacity to reveal, to be as a mirror to all who see him in a frank and brutal way. That makes you startled because you see yourself." By shaking the weight of a higher power, he recognizes himself as a god, albeit a false one, devoid of wisdom and compassion.
Mr. Khandikian points out that this has dire consequences for the general population, reflected by the citizens in the play. "It goes to show that people who have political or economic power need to be really careful in what they do with it," he says. "The people are very quick to start copying, it is easy for them. Unfortunately, the good deeds are very slow to spread, it is difficult to become famous for doing good things, when you do something bad, your fame spreads instantly."
Throughout the play, characters fall prey to moral compromise because of their own vanities. The production itself becomes an important character, providing a positive vehicle for expressing all of the negative actions and consequences. Mr. Khandikian recognizes the importance of artists to illuminate the difficult issues all societies and individuals must eventually confront.
"When Gorin writes his plays," Mr. Khandikian says, "the form of dialogue he uses, the actions, the types of characters, have nothing to do with Greek drama. A less skillful playwright would have tried to create a Greek drama in a realistic, ancient Greek atmosphere. I am very happy that Gorin did not. But I think he did achieve something that is part of traditional Greek drama and that is the catharsis. By showing the negative phenomenon, he is trying to cleanse.
"Sometimes, in Armenia, when something bad is happening, people try to cover their children’s eyes. I don’t know whether they should let children see everything, but I don’t agree with the idea of closing their eyes. And here I am sure that we should not close the audience’s eyes."
By putting the action in the context of the traditional Greek drama, but keeping themes relevant to the 20th century, the author creates a juxtaposition between our modern condition and the dawn of Western civilization. It questions how far we really have come in more than 2,000 years since the golden age of Greek tragedy. The issues raised can apply to the myriad of scandals and tragedies that have peppered our recent American history, also addressing the oppression felt by the director in his native Armenia.
"This play was first performed during Soviet rule," Mr. Khandikian says. "At the time, I had a lot of struggle within myself. I have never been a dissident. I don’t think being a dissident is correct in any system as a form of behavior. I think that if someone has a problem with a particular ideology, they have to struggle against it. Not only in words and thoughts, but in action. They will call me a dissident afterwards, if only to diminish my achievement.
"I staged this performance against the existing ideology despite the fact that there were a lot of good aspects of it in its pure form. By the ’60s and ’70s that had become already corrupt. In this play with its forms and ideas, we were able to show there was a group of people in this theater who do not agree with this ideology. The meaning was, ‘Don’t press us too much, because if people are pressured too much in a condition where there is no way out, then people like Herostratus are born.’"
Forget Herostratus plays at the Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe St., Bristol, Pa., Oct. 8-27. Performances: Wed. 2, 8 p.m.; Thurs.-Fri. 8 p.m.; Sat. 3, 8 p.m.; Sun. 3 p.m.; Oct. 8, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $27-$34. For information, call (215) 785-0100. On the Web: www.brtstage.org