Avant-garde (1971)
Avantgarde is the 1971 recording of German TV broadcasting of a production by Fritz Marquardt at the Volksbühne Berlin based on the play of the same name by the Soviet poet Valentin Katajew from 1929.
action
In 1928 the central Soviet congress in the Soviet Union proclaimed the program of the first five-year plan and with it the program of socialist industrialization . The builders of the first power plants sit among the delegates and the locations of the future construction sites for the associated reservoirs are shown on a display board . Suddenly a delegate from Nizhnyaya Ivanovka storms forward because his village will also be affected by the flood. He expresses his concern for his house and his economy, indeed his entire life and that of his roommates is called into question. Each of his objections is suppressed by referring to the state support for the resettlement of the local citizens and he is only given the advice to join the nearby agricultural community " Avantgarde ".
The commune, one of the first collective farms, has been consolidated since its inception, the initial difficulties have been resolved and normal life is beginning to prevail. Even the cobbler Lawrik now has the time to devote himself to his inventions, so he builds a tower, since in his opinion there must be a tower in every commune. From here he can look far into the country with a self-made telescope and see how the water for the planned reservoir continues to rise. The tower is full of self-developed technology that is supposed to make his life easier, only the electric bell is not yet working properly and when it finally rings, it makes such a noise that the horses run apart in fright, with chairman Chorba's horse seriously injured and got the coup de grace . Since Chorba does not see himself in a position to do this, his deputy party secretary Majorov, a former lathe operator from the Putilov works , takes on this task for him.
A delegation from Nizhnyaya Ivanovka comes to the municipality to find a new home there, as their village has to be relocated because of the rising water. Tschorba is strictly against accepting the resettlers, as he sees his work in jeopardy, because the expansion of the municipality may involve risks that he can probably no longer control, as old and worn out as he feels. But Majorow sees the expansion of the commune as the acquisition of new land and the construction of new houses in order to consolidate socialism in the country. That is why he personally picks up 514 new members from the village of Nizhnyaya Ivanovka, which leads to an open dispute with Chorba and the council of the municipality has to be convened to clarify the matter. At this meeting Majorov's proposal to accept the resettlers was accepted, also with the voice of Polina, Chorba's wife, who felt increasingly cramped and dissatisfied with her husband. Therefore Chorba resigns from the office of chairman and hands it over to Majorov. But the further development seems to prove Chorba right, because the coming hard winter brings hunger, cold and destruction, as there is a lack of food, fuel and warm accommodation, the former monastery was not built for so many people. After many of the animals perish, people no longer share Majorov's optimism, which leads to dissatisfaction and unrest.
The 18 urgently needed tractors that Majorow has ordered and that everyone in the municipality is hoping for will not be delivered. Majorow appeals to his old comrades and tries with the help of a competition and the additional delivery of 2000 tons of grain to the builders to get the expected machines. In order to convince the workers of the importance of the delivery, Lawrik is assigned to drive to the plant in Moscow, since Majorov is indispensable in the commune. Here he meets his girlfriend Sonja, who is studying in Moscow and who has taken on the cultural supervision of the workers at the plant. The appeal to produce more than originally planned led to sharp discussions among the workers of the tractor factory and to open dispute about the speed and the feasibility of the task. But after these disputes, they agree to deliver on time and Lawrik remains in Moscow until completion.
The snow in the commune has almost melted and Polina warns Majorov not to go behind the barracks alone , as many of the communards no longer trust him. She confesses to him her long-standing love, which he does not want to reciprocate, since all his thoughts and actions apply to the commune. Then he is asked to answer people's questions and he succeeds in reassuring most of them, since he can show a telegram confirming that the tractors left Moscow three days ago. When he thought he had convinced everyone, a few seduced peasants stayed behind and beat him to death. Chorba died in a confused state without responsibility for the commune he built and without the love of his wife Polina. But the machines that were additionally built by the workers arrive in the commune accompanied by Lawrik. With their help, the new chairman Lawrik can keep his promise to the workers at harvest time and hand over the 2000 tons of grain to a delegation from the tractor factory. When one of the workers asks where Majorov is, one communard after another answers and declares that he has taken his job.
Production and publication
The translation was done by Regine Kühn and Fritz Marquardt and the dramaturgy was in the hands of Lily Leder and Birgit Mehler. The stage set created Manfred Grund .
The drama premiered on September 27, 1970 in the Volksbühne Berlin as part of the XIV. Berliner Festtage. The performances from April 18 to 24, 1971 were recorded as a rehearsal in the Volksbühne and broadcast directly from the theater in black and white on April 25, 1971 in the first program of the German TV radio. The second repetition on November 18, 1972 in the 2nd program of East German television was broadcast in color.
criticism
In the review of the New Germany about the theater premiere, Rainer Kerndl wrote :
“Fritz Marquardt and his collective are committed to the fullness of emotion and the wit of the theatrical proposals of the play, to the dramatic play out of individual characters. They look for the ideas of the piece in order to reinterpret them with the experiences of our struggle. The consciousness of one's own political development gives the performance an optimistic revolutionary sovereignty, makes the dialectic of figure relationships and scenic processes beyond the historical contemporary, manageable, present. Pictures such as the one about the struggle of the workers in the tractor factory prove: The socialist historical awareness of our theater workers enables them to lead scenes full of harshness and irony to the expression of rousing and clever partisanship. "
In the Neue Zeit , Helmut Ullrich remarked about the theater premiere:
"A lot of human abundance, and some of it turns into a burlesque sketch, and some is bitter and gloomy in this strong performance, which proves the vitality of the Katajewian piece."
For Ernst Schumacher from the Berliner Zeitung , the premiere in the Volksbühne was a worthy programmatic prelude to the XIV. Berliner Festtage.
Awards
- 1971: The Berliner Volksbühne received a gold medal for staging the play at the 13th East German Workers' Festival.
- 1971: Critics' award of the Berliner Zeitung for the best director: Fritz Marquardt
Web links
- Avant-garde in the online dictionary of television in the GDR
Individual evidence
- ↑ Berliner Zeitung of September 27, 1970, p. 1
- ↑ Neue Zeit of April 17, 1971, p. 9
- ↑ Neue Zeit of November 18, 1972, p. 12
- ↑ Neues Deutschland, September 29, 1970, p. 5
- ↑ Neue Zeit of September 30, 1970, p. 4
- ↑ Berliner Zeitung of September 30, 1970, p. 6