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Chernobyl as Theater: Sarcophagus and the Human Element
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14078 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
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1 / 1988 |
1,073 Words |
| Author
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J. Perceval
J. Perceval writes on the arts from New York. |
The Soviets may have been a bit slow about letting the world know about their nuclear disaster after it occurred at Chernobyl in April of 1986, but they're certainly moving fast these days in an effort to rack up some glasnost brownie points in getting out a play on the subject in the West.
Vladimir Gubaryev, science editor of Pravda, was the first Soviet journalist to visit the site of the nuclear plant, a scant four days after the accident. In the months following filing his copy, Gubaryev was moved to put together his experiences and observations in the form of a play. It was published in September 1986 in Pravda's literary magazine, Znamya (Banner). Gubaryev was already well-known in his own country as the author of four plays, numerous documentary films, and one feature screenplay. Having written twenty books on the use of atomic energy and space travel, a member of the USSR Union of Writers and a winner of the USSR State Prize, Gubaryev is very much a member of the Establishment--and hence the nomenklatura--enjoying privileges and comforts denied the ordinary Soviet citizen. Which means he can be guaranteed not to go one step further than the prescribed boundaries in criticisms of his own society.
No Show in Moscow
Within months, his play, Sarcophagus, had been translated into English, published by Penguin Books, and given a production in Great Britain by the Royal Shakespeare Company that was widely featured in major newspapers and magazines throughout Europe and the United States. This past September, the play was brought out in the States by Random House, and two virtually simultaneous American premieres were held--one at New Haven by the prestigious Yale Repertory Theater (see THE WORLD & I, December 1987), the other (attended by the playwright) on the West Coast at the Los Angeles Theater Center as part of the annual Los Angeles Theater festival. Although Sarcophagus was published in the Soviet Union, the play reportedly has only been given a couple of performances by amateur groups there. It has yet to be presented in Moscow or any other major city.
There is a certain poignancy even in reading the play, as its author, having been in Chernobyl only four days after the accident, may, as he full well knows, stand at considerable risk himself from the after effects of the radiation. The American edition of Sarcophagus carries an introduction by California physician Robert Gale, who was flown over by Armand Hammer to treat the Soviets dying from the Chernobyl radiation. Dr. Gale recalls to us the immensity of the
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