Six years ago, a performance of perhaps the most famous Shakespearean tragedy appeared in the playbill of the Ivan Franko National Theater. The play was staged by Valentyn Kozmenko-Delinde. His directorial works are distinguished by theatrical figurativeness, which is transmitted by the modernist stage design language (a frame under the glass draped with white cloth, a barrel, a balcony), when during the action the sad and the hilarious, grotesque and irony form some special “cocktail.” The unappeasable Montagues and Capulets conflict on an almost empty stage. Bright plasticity is demonstrated by Ostap Stupka (Mercutio) and Oleksandr Pecherytsia (Benvolio), static expression – by Volodymyr Abozopulo Sr. (Montague), who is making some kind of magic from his presence on stage. In 2005, the main characters were played by actors Dmytro Chernov and Anzhelika Savchenko, who only came to the Franko troupe, and the image of Escalus was created by Dmytro Stupka (who at that time studied acting skills at the Karpenko-Kary National University of Theater, Film and Television). Years passed, and the director decided that it was time to introduce new cast. During the rehearsals, Kozmenko-Delinde understood that Dmytro Stupka (Romeo) and Liza Marchenko (Juliet) have involuntarily changed the entire play (stage settings, the character of heroes, even the spirit of the performance). Since the charming girl Juliet first appeared in front of the audience, carefully playing violin passages, her impulsive sincerity and expectation of some miracle was transmitted to the spectators. The proverbial “balcony” scene was played by Liza Marchenko (NUTFT student, Bohdan Beniuk’s class) and Dmytro Stupka in a single burst of inspiration. By the way, there were many young people among the audience, who reacted vividly (sometimes it seemed that not all viewers knew the plot), so they just artlessly listened to the text and even sniveled in the end... One can say that the young actors have breathed new life into the old play, but the costumes they played in seemed too tight, they would rather be renewed and modernized. Moreover, it is common practice when the directors interpret Shakespeare’s story.
