The performance “Soldiers of Love” was staged by the Vologda Chamber Drama Theatre in the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve during the action “Night of Arts”. Residents of Kirillov know the actors of this theatre thanks to the plays “Amore. Love. Lyubov” and “Shakespeare-Russkiy” that have already been presented in Kirillov before. For example, spectators could see the performance about William Shakespeare in the open air within the framework of the 12th International Theatrical Festival “Voices of History”.
On November 3, the house was almost full half an hour prior to the event. The audience mainly consisted of pupils, students and working youth. In spite of the difficult weather conditions – the ground in Kirillov was covered with ice already in the afternoon, the guests hurried up to join in the “Night of Arts”.
The play “Soldiers of Love” based on the novel of the Soviet writer Viktor Astafiev “Shepherd and Shepherdess” was included into the repertoire of the Chamber Theatre several years ago. The performance in Kirillov was timed to the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.
The plot is rather simple at first sight, though it embraces several lines: military actions and a love story of a girl and a young soldier of the Red Army who managed to become a platoon commander. But it is well known that it is difficult to write something simple (and vice versa – it is easy to write something difficult). Probably, it is much more difficult to act. Those who had read the novel “Shepherd and Shepherdess” certainly noted that the actors managed to get out the message of the military story during less than an hour. The spectators greeted them with cheers and expressed their gratitude personally at the end of the event.
Besides, the exhibition “History of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery” was open in the Refectory till late evening. People could also see the film of Boris Dvorkin “Preserving the Past” marking the 90th anniversary of the museum foundation there.
