"…WOMEN DREAMING…"

The world "enterprise" was derived from the French language. It means a private spectacular performance such as by a circus, theatre etc. 

The historical roots of private theatres go back to the distant past, and we will not delve into those times. It is notable, however, that there was a plethora of enterprise theatres here in Baku at the dawn of the 20th century. The most popular one was Polonsky's, which was embedded in the history of Russian theatre, staged in Baku from 1911. It existed under the title of Russian Drama until mid-1923 and was based in the premises of the former Pel-Mel Theatre. In 1923, most members of the group entered the Baku Workers Theatre, further renamed the Samad Vurghun Russian Drama Theatre. And, following the old habit, Baku residents continue calling the Russian Drama Theatre, "Russian Drama" to this day, although this is clearly mistaken.  

Polonsky's enterprise did, indeed, stage Russian plays, and calling the theatre "Russian Drama" was quite appropriate at the time. Well, we should talk not about this juggling of names, but about the enterprise itself. Recently, this long forgotten word has once again become part of our spoken language. And that is not all. Azerbaijan's new Law on Theatre contains a passage that looks into the possibility of creating enterprises as artistic-creative alternatives to existing state bodies. Actually, this is not a well-trodden path and it needs to be explored, although such efforts are already being made in the country.   

Amazement 

First, Rustam Ibrahimbayov's IBRUS theatre appeared, followed by the emergence of the Production Centre for Creative Youth under the Union of Theatrical Workers of Azerbaijan. Finally, the PRO-CENT Production Centre was established. But for some reason, many, particularly Russian, theatre critics do not think highly of enterprise. This is explained by the fact that enterprise directing projects are rarely distinguished by state-of-the-art artistic taste. Superficial reading by directors and approximate acting, limited to illustrating playwrights' texts - that's the result of hasty efforts, relying on the familiar faces of actors, offered to spectators by enterprisers. But the performance of "Hold me closer, love me" by the St. Petersburg Theatrical Centre on Kolomenskaya, based on Gaston Gorbovitsky's "Maupassant in Love" was a pleasant surprise for Baku residents. It was a show which presented the history of the Artist with a great deal of humour and excitement. More precisely, that of the Poet. And, most precisely, that of writer Guy de Maupassant, or Henri Rene Albert Guy. But it is not a dull retelling of the background of this world-famous celebrity. Neither is it an attempt to tell how and where one should derive topics for creating masterpieces. This is an attempt to delve into the soul of the artist who can see the sublime amidst day-to-day life, these tedious and often depressing domestic affairs, and in simple mundane truth. Sublime poetic content. The moments that are capable of giving, even to deception, a sublime touch and incredible charm. 

Andrei Noskov plays the character Lebarbe, who arrives at the family mansion of the de Gayar marquises to elicit controversial information for his Paris-based newspaper. First, he produces the impression of a bashful layman, who shyly enters the mansion, gazing with adoration at the maid humming love songs. Later, however, as his sojourn in the castle inevitably prompts him to communicate with the ladies, he grows more and more relaxed. The man who is lucky enough to have the ability not only to see and notice details, but also to sense with delicacy the emotional states and thoughts of other people, to understand what weighs on their minds, to guess the wishes and dreams of lonely women, becomes more than just a ladies' man in Marquise de Gayar's mansion. Then, the stories of his relationships with each of these women - the maid, the marquise and her daughter - become not just banal adultery, stories of immoral sin or the outright seduction of an innocent girl! They become that sublime deception that allows the woman to feel like a real lady. For Marie Antoinette (renowned Russian artist Larisa Dmitriyeva), this short relationship with the visiting reporter brought not simply an evanescent moment of happiness - that would just be a hackneyed story. What happened was more than that. Lebarbe inspired her to believe that nothing is impossible in life. And there is no need to go to Paris in pursuit of an ephemeral dream. Happiness can be here. And it is within reach. All it takes is to realize and believe that your dream can materialize here, by opening a little restaurant, and you can be happy with that. So, he gives her all his money, to the last dime. He is so anxious to see this lonely creature's dream come true! And even more so, he wants her to believe that it is possible. The power of his confidence that happiness is there, and it is possible, transmits to Marie Antoinette. Antoinette, touched by his kindness, crying and holding on tightly to a pile of money, lets Lebarbe know that she, just a maid in the marquise's house, is thankful to him for making her feel like a queen, albeit not for long, and for giving her hope of a brighter day. Finally, she thanks him for bringing a dream to her life which has become the meaning of her very existence in this outback, so far from the vice and temptations of a big city.

Marquise de Gayar, played by Anna Samokhina, is a creature bearing the heavy burden of inferiority complexes and the ritual obligations of her family name. But just like any other woman, she longs for faith, hope and love. An extremely lonely lady, who finds comfort in forced virtue, she, having encountered Lebarbe, sees him as a phantom in the flesh, because, since her much-respected husband left the mansion, leaving in her memory only the bitterness of offence and an array of disillusion, the dream of a real man dominates her fantasy. And here comes her dream in the flesh! You can even touch it, and it will not melt away like a mirage. But…the patrimonial sanctimoniousness of the de Gayars! It is so embedded in their blood that the marquise can't, just can't…afford to be just a woman, and not a venerated Puritan! Noskov's character follows with the curiosity of an adventurer all the transformations taking place in the woman after sinning. At some point, it even seems as though this situation amuses him. He is struggling with double-edged feelings: the curiosity of a reporter and… the admiration of a poet. The poetic feelings get the upper hand. And a flow of amazingly pretty words exulting the sensuousness of the Woman, pour into the poetry he keeps writing down in his notebook: 

…we dream restlessly at night

…of a quiet "yes" from lips enchanting as wine 

…of the rustle of clothes enticing with a secret paradise…

This is Maupassant's poetry. And there is a lot of it. The poems are scattered all over the performance like precious pearls, deifying women, sensuousness and love. It is quite a dangerous line, behind which is a zone treacherously provoking vulgarity and anecdotal salaciousness. A zone that seduces with the possibility of existence at the level of genes and reprises on subjects "below-the-belt", a light and amusing illustration of the plot as a series of anecdotes and a quick fix catering to the tastes of an undemanding spectator. But St. Petersburg residents did not dare to lower the retelling on stage of the poet's story to the hackneyed vulgarity of visiting private theatrical performances. They cherish the very moment of truth, as seen by Lebarbe, which turns bitter truth into exulting deception. And it builds on the power of love. This does not last forever; it lasts just a moment. But it is sincere and passionate every time! And it's a way that seems to last forever. As if it were the last time. As if the only woman in the whole wide world stands before him. The truth of the moment is what is important for the actor and his character. A truth that can be here and now. A truth that can never occur anywhere, or with anyone, else. And these relationships represent his creative work. They are his life. He, himself, is a fine and delicate explorer of the soul of woman. The poet and writer Henri Rene Albert Guy, or Lebarbe. Or Andrei Noskov. He drank the bowl of life, savouring it as the nectar we call Love. And this aroused a feeling of happiness in him pervading day after day and one story after another. This could go on indefinitely. But…A creature named Anriette (Yulia Rudina), Marquise de Gayar's daughter, burst into his life like a comet. Impetuous, open, excited and changeable, as if in her alone is concentrated the inconstancy of all women of the world. She dazzles him with her extraordinariness and her craving for life. She made him fall in love with her, luring him with the chance of harmonious happiness for the rest of his life and… she disappeared! Away, to the urban hassle of Paris, which, as she had predicted, promised a life even more amazing and exhilarating than the love of one lad. A reporter. A novice poet. But she wanted everything in abundance: life and fame, an uproarious and glorious fame, admirers and a spotlight on her uniqueness. She felt like a sun, around which planets should twirl, while he was just a tiny luminary in her orbit.  That's why her own flames were quite enough to sear Lebarbe's soul, to fill it with suffering for the rest of his life. But she also gave him wings to fly. From then onwards, he looked for her in the numerous women he encountered. The women he loved the way they were. He looked without success. He languished, suffered and created. From them on, each and every one of his heroines had a particle of Anriette. 

The body of mine was awakened by a current of hot rays 

Relentlessly pouring into the bottom of my heart 

And I realized that inside me it had lit the excitement 

That the sun once lit in Adam's chest. 

Yulia Rudina sends her character along the waves of newly experienced feeling with such an irresistible passion, such an enormous desire to fill Anriette de Gayar's every moment with the harmony of happiness, which could be generated only by the craving for life that is inherent to the actress herself. From her first appearance on stage, she captivates not only Lebarbe but also the audience, which cannot resist such an abundance of temper, feelings, sensuousness, touching tenderness and naive excitement towards the outside world, which seems to a rural girl a universe comprised of admirers and love. The world she dreams of is free of filthiness, lowness and sin. It is a triumph of love and love alone. Love as truth, as a carnival, as a celebration. Nothing else. Love for her, one of a kind and unmatched. And she rushes towards this world as a butterfly rushes to a flame. And no one and nothing can stop her. Lebarbe, who tries to warn her, is not heard…Love? Well, there is so much of it in that world…A lot, and she wants it all…

She rushed into his life like a comet. And, having scarred it, simply vanished. She melted away into the vastness of Paris, leaving behind only suffering and pain. A pain that developed into the ailing of his soul. And the walls of a hospital ward will return his thoughts to the past again and again. Back to the days when he was happy. And his mother (played by People's Artist and winner of the Russian state prize, Tatyana Tkach), who could not be reconciled to the fact that her son is slowly but surely leaving this world, will say downheartedly: "Oh…If only you hadn't given the best of your strength to women!" And she will hear an answer worthy of a Poet: "Mother, what else is better in life than beautiful women? Really! Is there anything else?"

The St. Petersburg Theatrical Centre on Kolomenskaya is one of the most successful of experiments. According to St. Petersburgers, this is one of the first projects in Russia. And, it is good to know that it has succeeded, because this theatre is a place that serves art. They serve Melpomena there. And they do it with the degree of honesty and love that is inherent to people who are fond of what they do. So, enterprise, as an alternative to a state body, can be a state-of-the-art enterprise. More precisely, it can be a temple where people worship only for love of the great theatrical art…