Alexey Nikolaevich Arbuzov

« Cruel Games»

Late 1970s Moscow. House on Tverskoy Boulevard. Kai Leonidov lives in a spacious three-room apartment. His mother and stepfather are abroad, they left for several years, so he lives alone. One day, a girl, Nelya, comes to his apartment. She is nineteen years old. Having arrived from Rybinsk, she did not enter medical school. She has nowhere to live, and her friends referred her to Kai. She promises if Kai will let her live here, clean and cook. Kai is twenty years old, but he is already tired of life and indifferent to everything. His parents wanted him to become a lawyer, but Kai dropped out of college and started drawing. Kai allows Nele to stay.

His friends Terenty Konstantinov and Nikita Likhachev often come to see Kai. They are his age and have been friends since school. Terenty left his father. Konstantinov Sr. also often comes to Kai, calling his son home, but he hardly talks to him. Terenty lives in a hostel and has no intention of returning home. Nelya comes up with a nickname for everyone: Kaya is called Boat, Nikita - Bubenchik, Terenty - Honey fungus. Nikita starts an affair with Nelya. He cares for every girl who appears in his field of vision. Nelya scares him that she will take him and give birth to a daughter.

One January evening, Mikhail Zemtsov comes to see Kai. This cousin Kaya. He is thirty years old, he is a doctor in Tyumen. Mikhail is passing through Moscow. Mikhail talks about his work and life in the taiga in general. He is married. Recently his daughter was born. Nelya tells him that she also wants to become a doctor, that she worked as a nurse in a hospital. Mikhail says that if they had such a nurse in the hospital, he would make her rich. Leaving, Mikhail tells the guys that they live dimly, do not see life with its joys.

Early March. Western Siberia. Village of an oil exploration expedition. In the Zemtsovs’ room are Misha and his wife Masha. She is thirty-nine years old and a geologist. Just ten weeks ago their daughter was born, and Masha is already bored. She cannot live without her job, which is why, as Mikhail says, three people left her ex-husband. Masha is burdened by the fact that Mikhail can be called to the hospital at any time of the day or night, and she must sit alone with Lesya. Loveiko, the Zemtsovs' neighbor, enters. He is thirty-eight years old, he works with Masha. Loveiko says that the area in Tuzhka where they worked was called unpromising. Masha wants to prove the opposite to everyone, but she has a child in her arms.

At this time the door opens, Nelya is standing on the threshold. She is very surprised that Misha is married, she did not know this. Misha does not immediately recognize her, but then he is sincerely happy, because “there is no one to look after his patients.” Nelya wants to stay with them until the fall so she can try to go to college again.

Moscow. Kai's apartment again. The guys remember Nelya all the time. She left without saying goodbye to anyone, without leaving an address, without saying where she was going. Kai painted her portrait and considers it his only success. Nikita thinks that Nelya left because she is expecting a child from him. Unexpectedly, Oleg Pavlovich, Kai’s stepfather, arrives for just two days. He brings him gifts and a letter from his mother.

Village of the oil exploration expedition, second half of July, Zemtsov’s room. Masha and Loveiko are going to leave for Tuzhok. Nelya brings Lesya from the nursery so that they can say goodbye, but Masha does not want this: she “said goodbye yesterday in the nursery.” Misha is summoned to Baikul. Nelya is left alone with the child.

Mid August. Zemtsov's room. Misha and Nelya are drinking tea. Nelya tells him her story. She ran away from home after her parents forced her to have an abortion. She wanted to run away with her “boyfriend,” but he drove her away. Nelya asks Misha to marry her. Misha replies that he loves Masha. He “tells fortunes” to Nele’s palm. He tells her that Nelya loves someone else: he offended her, so she left. Nelya agrees. Misha says that everything can be fixed if the person is alive. And suddenly he reports that Masha has left them. Nelya asks him not to believe this.

End of September. Moscow. Evening. The guys are sitting in Kai's room. For the umpteenth time, Konstantinov Sr. comes, and Terenty is still as cold with him. Suddenly a woman comes. This is Nelya's mother. She is in her early forties. She is looking for her daughter. The guys say that Nelya left and did not leave an address. Nelya’s mother says that her husband is dying and wants to see her daughter one last time and ask for forgiveness. The guys can't help her. She leaves. Terenty believes that Nikita is to blame for Nelya’s departure. Kai says that everyone is to blame. They remember their childhood and wonder why they became so inhuman. Even Konstantinov Sr. suddenly opens up. He tells how he drank all his life, and when he came to his senses, he found himself alone.

Twentieth of October. Zemtsov's room. Masha came for one day. Nelya tells her how Mikhail died: he flew out to save a man, but due to an accident he drowned in a swamp. Now Nelya spends the night at their house, taking Lesya from the nursery - “so that life here will be warm,” she says that Misha loved her, Nelya, then admits that she came up with this in order to forget the other, and that Masha can be envied: such a person loved her! Masha leaves, leaving Lesya with Nelya. As a farewell, Nelya turns on Masha’s tape recorder, where Misha recorded his song for her.

Moscow. Beginning of December. Kai's room. Nikita and Terenty arrive. Kai says that Nelya has returned with her daughter. The girl caught a cold on the road. Nikita is not himself. Wants to leave. Nelya comes out of the next room with a girl in her arms. She says that she will leave when Lesya gets better, at least to her mother - she called her. Nikita wants to find out who the child’s father is, but Nelya doesn’t tell him. He asks if he would like this to be his child? He pushes her away. Nelya is crying. Terenty invites her to marry him.

Last days of December. Kai's room. Lesya sleeps in a new stroller. Nelya bought a big Christmas tree. Kai is sorting through toys. Nelya reminds again that she will be leaving soon. Kai doesn't want to believe it. Terenty dressed up as Santa Claus. Terenty's father brought Lesya a mechanical toy as a gift. The guys turn off the lights and twirl to the music.

Suddenly Masha enters. She asks where her daughter is. Nelya says that she took the girl away because Masha left her, abandoned her. Masha takes her daughter and says that all the games, including her own, are over. Leaves. Kai notices that the room has become empty. Nelya asks everyone for forgiveness. Nikita drives her away in a rage. Nelya packs her things and wants to leave. Konstantinov Sr. asks Nelya not to leave, not to leave the guys, Nelya remains silent. Kai slowly approaches her and takes her suitcase. Nikita takes off her jacket, Terenty takes off her scarf. They lit the Christmas tree and turned on the tape recorder. Terenty calls Konstantinov father for the first time and goes home with him. Kai gets dressed and goes out: he wants to look from the street at the Christmas tree in the house. Nikita and Nelya are left alone.

Late 1970s. Moscow. Kai lives on Tverskoy Boulevard. Mother and stepfather are abroad, the living space is at his disposal. He dropped out of college, lives for his own pleasure, and paints.

One day a girl appears on the doorstep. Nelya failed her medical exams, but she doesn’t want to return to Rybinsk. She was told to turn to Kai. For the roof over her head, she undertakes to do all the housework.

Kai is often visited by his friends Terenty and Nikita. Terenty left home and lives in a hostel. From time to time, a friend’s father comes to Tverskaya and calls his son back, but Terenty does not want to know. Nelya gives each of the guys harmless nicknames. Nikita, as usual, “hits” the girl. Nelya likes the cheerful guy, she also jokes: I’ll take it and give birth to your child.

On a winter evening, Kai’s cousin Mikhail Zemtsov came to see him. He works as a doctor in Tyumen and recently became a father. Looking at the indifferent youth of the capital, Tyumen residents feel sorry for them: they are deprived of real joys. But the guest liked Nelya - they would like such an employee at the hospital!

Siberia, oil workers' village, early spring. There is discord in the Zemtsov family - Masha finds it burdensome to look after her daughter; she is a geologist and wants to work. Mikhail is annoyed: apparently, three husbands left Masha because of her work. A geologist neighbor tells Masha that the Tuzhka field has been recognized as unpromising. She wants to prove the opposite, but she has a child in her arms.

Nelya appears, whom Misha jokingly called to Siberia. She intends to work at the local hospital until her next exams. In Moscow, the guys reproach themselves for the sudden departure of their friend; it became empty without her. She left unknown where, without saying goodbye to anyone. Kai drew a portrait of Nelya, Nikita is sure that the girl is expecting a child.

Siberia, summer. Masha leaves for an expedition, leaving her daughter to her husband and Nelya. Nelya takes care of the girl like a mother. After a while, Mikhail reports: Masha left them, Nelya asks them not to believe the gossip.

At the end of October, Masha comes to see her family for one day. Nelya reports tragic death Mikhail. Now she and the baby live together.

Moscow, December. Kai informs his friends: Nelya has returned with her daughter. The guest is not going to stay in the capital - she will leave as soon as the girl gets better. Nikita tries to find out paternity, but receives a counter question: would he like the child to be his? The guy pushes Nelya away, she is upset. Terenty offers the girl his hand and heart.

New Year's Eve. Everyone brings gifts to the baby, Terenty dresses up as Santa Claus, and the company begins to celebrate. In the midst of the fun, Masha Zemtsova enters. She takes her daughter and says: the games are over, including her own. Nelya apologizes for deceiving her and intends to leave, but the guys stop the girl. Terenty finally makes peace with his father and returns home. Kai goes out into the yard, Nelya and Nikita are left alone.

Alexey Nikolaevich Arbuzov is a famous modern playwright. His works are characterized by a moral atmosphere full of high nobility and relevance. Arbuzov's plays are well known to the audience. They have always been widely performed and are still performed on the stages of domestic and foreign theaters. One of the best among them is the play “Cruel Intentions”.

According to Arbuzov himself, this play is “about the responsibility of any of us for those who are nearby,” about the dependence of people on each other, when another careless movement or word can be disastrous.”

The first few actions in “Cruel Intentions” take place in Moscow, in an old house on Tverskoy Boulevard, in a somewhat neglected three-room apartment inhabited by a twenty-year-old guy, Kai Leonidov. He lives alone in this apartment, but it is always full of people who are not always close or even known to Kai.

His parents live abroad. A mother writes letters to her son. But they lack sincerity, genuine care. Kai's mother simply fulfills her duty, because she has no other way to demonstrate her motherhood. Kai himself says about this: “Complies with deco-room.” His mother remarried, she arranges her destiny and is interested in her son insofar as. Kai is very offended when he receives a letter from his mother, typewritten, dead,

dry.

Kai also has a father. He has too new family, his son was born recently, he doesn’t see Kai. So the guy is completely alone, his fate is truly interesting to few people. While still in his second year of law school, he dropped out. Kai says he doesn't love anyone, not even his mother. He is interested in painting, but admits that he can’t do anything.

The choice of such a name for him is not accidental. The hero of Ar-Buzov’s play actually resembles the cold boy from Andersen’s famous fairy tale. He is disappointed in everything, his life is empty and meaningless, he is indifferent to those around him, he has no one

it's a pity.

Suddenly, a girl, Nelya, appears on his doorstep and intends to live with him for a while. She has nowhere to go, she has no Moscow registration. Nelya has been in Moscow for two months already. She didn’t get into medical school, but she doesn’t want to return home because she hates her parents. They raised her strictly, watched her relentlessly, crossed out her youth. Once free, Nelya “threw into the abyss”, became pregnant, her parents forced her to get rid of the child, after which she ran away from home. Her beloved betrayed Nelya, and more than once in her life she faced treason and betrayal. Nelya is looking for real tenderness and friendship in life and does not find it.

For a roof over her head, the girl is ready to do all the housework for Kai, she’s even ready to sleep with him.

Nelya gradually becomes closer to Nikita, Kai's friend, who often appears at his house. But Nelya and Nikita are hardly connected mutual love. Nikita “deceived Nelya” and made it clear that she was responsible for the corner she occupied. “He’s a scoundrel, that’s what he is,” Nelya says about him. Nikita once told the girl beautiful words, and now he treats her with disdain and, playing on his feelings, she comes up with a myth about her pregnancy. Nelya hopes to awaken genuine interest in herself, to see Nikita’s care and attention. She plays a cruel game with him.

Nikita has countless relatives, but each of them lives his own life. All family members have their own interests. This is a pseudo-family in which everyone is indifferent to each other. Nikita probably had no one to learn to love from, which is why he is so indifferent to Nelya, who runs away from him to Siberia, to Mishka Zemtsov.

His appearance shook up the usual life in Kai’s house. Mishka is Kai’s cousin, ten years older than him, a doctor, an optimist, plays the guitar, and sings well. Mishka lives in Siberia, he is in Moscow only for one night. He recently had a daughter, which he happily informs his brother about.

The author transfers the action of the play to Western Siberia, to the village of an oil exploration expedition, where Mishka lives and where he returns from Kai. There is no order in his house, female hand not visible, although there is a wife. She is older than Mishka; she gave birth to his daughter only at thirty-nine years old. Masha is not a home woman. Not much time has passed after giving birth, but she is already bored of sitting at home, she is drawn to expeditions. She is not the keeper of the family hearth and is far from surrounding her loved ones with warmth, affection, and care. The child tying Masha is a burden to her. “I’m a geologist, and everything else comes later!” - she says. Zemtsova has a son in the army, but for a month she has never written to him. Mishka loves her, and that’s his problem. Only after the death of her husband does she realize that she “ran past happiness” and did not give the closest people in the world enough attention and love.

Nelya, offended by Nikita, suddenly disappears from Kai’s house and goes to Mishka in Siberia. Nelya is a godsend for Masha, because she, unlike Zemtsova, loves children. Masha goes on an expedition without hesitation, leaving the child with a stranger and stranger to her. When Nelya brings Masha Lesya to say goodbye, she is surprised. She does not experience real maternal affection for her daughter, and she does not love Misha. She calmly leaves him in the same apartment with Nelya. “You’re careless with people,” Zemtsov reproaches her. “There’s a lot of games, Masha, and somehow you don’t look back at people, you don’t take note.”

In Moscow, only after Nelya’s disappearance they noticed how valuable a person she was to them. “The trouble is, Kai Yuliy,” says Nikita, “I can’t find the right words.”

Zemtsov, having learned about Nelya’s personal tragedy, tries to support her, instill optimism and faith in the future, in bright feelings. "Marry me!" - Nelya tells him in a fever. But Mishka is honest with her. "It is forbidden. “I love Masha,” he answers. Masha's betrayal with Loveiko does not prevent Mishka from remaining devoted to her. Nevertheless, communication with Mishka warms Nelya with special warmth. He gives her warmth of participation, inspires hope for the best, shows an example of decency, love, and selflessness. After Mishka’s death, she continues to come to his empty house so that life can glimmer there.

Nelya is kind and caring, but she shows cruelty by stealing Masha’s child. Nelya, who escaped from Siberia with Lesya, unexpectedly awakens pity in Nikita’s soul. Nikita, of course, learned about the child and chickened out. He was seriously afraid that this was his daughter, and that he would have to somehow answer for his action. Nikita was overcome with confusion. Nelya’s words that Lesya was not from him shocked Nikita. He rudely pushes Nelya away, and Terenty, who at that moment felt great pity and tenderness for her, unexpectedly proposes to her. At the end of the play, Nikita changes his attitude towards Nelya and life in general.

Terenty has a very tense relationship with his father, who in every possible way wants to earn his son’s favor by repenting many years after his crime. He once drank mercilessly, from the age of five he drove Terenty out onto the street, and he sat in the barn out of fear until the morning. Terenty's mother died from his torture.

There is no real friendship between Kai, Nikita and Terenty. “We just come and that’s it,” says Terenty. Neither Nikita nor Kai sees much point in communicating with friends.

The attitude of the parents towards Nelya, towards Kai, the father towards Terentiy, Masha Zemtsova towards Mishka, the children themselves towards each other, Nelya towards the stolen child and his mother - all these are cruel games. These games are very dangerous and destructive for a person, they destroy him, deprive him moral essence his existence. Arbuzov’s play “Cruel Intentions” is about this.

This is one of Arbuzov’s toughest, harshest plays, in some ways not even categorical in an Arbuzovian way. The playwright accurately felt and recreated in it many problems that became very acute in subsequent decades.

“When I wrote “Cruel Intentions,” recalled Arbuzov, “I thought about this: we are all standing on a small bridgehead, there is such a platform in the mountains when you climb to the very top, and there you can stand four, even five. Just don’t make sudden movements so as not to push someone into the abyss. Essentially, this is a figurative picture of our life. Pain from a careless movement, which you yourself sometimes do not notice, can bring death, moral or physical, to a person close to you.”

In the play, this idea finds artistic embodiment not only in the Moscow scenes. The action moves from time to time to Siberia, where Misha, Kai’s relative, a man who adores his family, a romantic and a songwriter, lives and works. For a while, his stories about Siberia (after all, it was there that the heroes of Arbuzov’s plays went to look for themselves and their happiness), about his beloved wife and newborn daughter bring some light into the gloomy atmosphere of Kai’s large and empty apartment, but then it turns out that Misha's life is falling apart at the seams. Geologist Masha, his wife, a strong-willed, energetic and purposeful woman, considers her child and husband a hindrance in her life. life path. “I’m a geologist,” she proudly declares, “and everything else comes later.” Forced to sit with her daughter, she considers herself a bird put in a cage and is eager to be free. But will turns into the loss of family, love (Misha dies) and, as the heroine realizes with a tragic delay, happiness. In the last conversation with Nelya, who secretly took the child from Siberia to Moscow, believing that Masha did not need him, and at the same time in order to experience Nikita’s feelings (the games continue), Masha sums up the sad conclusion of her life and warns the girl against repeating her mistakes: “Everything we play and play, we just can’t get enough of it... On Tuzhka she proved her point, but here (points to chest) Everything went silent. My dancing is over. Okay, live. Stop playing, or you’ll kill yourself.”

The connection with time, the rootedness of a person in life begins in Arbuzov’s plays with family ties, from the threshold of the house. “His sociality was always hidden in complex and bizarre human relationships,” M. Roshchin rightly noted. Exactly family relationships They clarify a lot about the characters of Arbuzov’s heroes. Vedernikov’s careless attitude towards his mother (“Years of Wandering”), troubles in Victor’s family (“The Irkutsk Story”), blind jealousy of his mother and resentment towards his father, who left the family, that Leonidik feels (“My Poor Marat”) - all this will affect the difficult path of the heroes. The mother who left little son for the sake of new love(“The Guilty”), a father who frivolously neglected his family (“ Lost Son"), are overtaken in their declining years by loneliness and a bitter awareness of mistakes.

Arbuzov's most subtle, sensitive heroes do not allow themselves to disturb the peace of the people dear to them: Tanya decisively and quietly leaves her love, Viktosha leaves the Balyasnikovs' house, realizing his love for Balyasnikov's son and fearing to hurt his father, again causing their alienation. Silently and calmly, Lyusya will listen to Vedernikov’s confession of love for another woman, but the other one, Olga, will leave at the end of the play without destroying their family. The heroes of the play “My Poor Marat” will find the strength to start life over again; they will separate so as not to hurt the hero’s wife and children, Palchikov and Tamara (“Evening Light”). There is hope that compassion and mercy will enter into the souls of the matured heroes of Cruel Intentions. In the final part of the play, Terenty leaves with his father to meet New Year, Nikita and Nelya talk more seriously, without mockery, about their feelings, Kai does not remain indifferent to everything that happens, Masha takes home her little daughter, perhaps she will give her her love and attention, which she was too stingy with her husband.

Directed by M. Zakharov, who staged it on the stage of the Theatre. Lenin Komsomol the most striking and impressive performance based on the play “Cruel Intentions,” wrote: “In this play, the hidden temperament of a calm-looking playwright bubbles and bursts out, anger and energy roam, there is a desperate desire to stop absurd and life-threatening games, there is a call (almost cry) to careful communication with people near and far..."

I. Monisova

Drama in two parts, eight scenes

… So I was born and appeared at first as a modest model of myself, in order to be born again as a more perfect creation...

Michelangelo Buonarroti. Sonnet XXIV

Characters

Tanya.

Hermann.

Shamanova Maria.

Ignatov Alexey Ivanovich.

Dusya.

Micah.

Grandmother.

Grishchenko Andrey Tarasovich.

Doctor.

Mistress of the winter hut.

Vasin.

Bashnyak.

« Furmanov».

« Chapaev».

« Sailor».

Curly boy.

Boy.

Guests of Herman, mine youth.

Part one

Scene one

November fourteenth, 1934.

Moscow. Winter twilight. It's almost six. Herman's apartment. A cozy room in which everything speaks of happy love and the friendship of the two. Outside the window, thick snow is slowly falling, illuminated by the street lights. Tanya is on the threshold, frozen and happy. She is in a white fur coat, covered in snow. Snow-covered skis in hands. Dusya runs towards her, small, snub-nosed, serious girl about eighteen years old.

Dusya. Well, you’re always in the room with your skis...

Tanya. Is there no Herman? I just have a look... (Takes off his fur coat.) And what snow! Like in childhood, I raised my head and swallowed it like ice cream... And the mittens were wet, even if you squeeze them out!

The action takes place in the late 70s. of our century. Moscow. House on Tverskoy Boulevard. Kai Leonidov lives in a spacious three-room apartment. His mother and stepfather are abroad, they left for several years, so he lives alone. One day, a girl, Nelya, comes to his apartment. She is nineteen years old. Having arrived from Rybinsk, she did not enter medical school. She has nowhere to live, and her friends referred her to Kai. She promises if Kai will let her live here, clean and cook. Kai is twenty years old, but he is already tired of life and indifferent to everything. His parents wanted him to become a lawyer, but Kai dropped out of college and started drawing. Kai allows Nele to stay.

His friends Terenty Konstantinov and Nikita Likhachev often come to see Kai. They are his age and have been friends since school. Terenty left his father. Konstantinov Sr. also often comes to Kai, calling his son home, but he hardly talks to him. Terenty lives in a hostel and has no plans to return home. Nelya comes up with a nickname for everyone: she calls Kaya Boat, Nikita - Bubenchik, Terenty - Openkok. Nikita starts an affair with Nelya. He cares for every girl who appears in his field of vision. Nelya scares him that she will take him and give birth to a daughter.

One January evening, Mikhail Zemtsov comes to see Kai. This is Kai's cousin. He is thirty years old, he is a doctor in Tyumen. Mikhail is passing through Moscow. Mikhail talks about his work and life in the taiga in general. He is married. Recently his daughter was born. Nelya tells him that she also wants to become a doctor, that she worked as a nurse in a hospital. Mikhail says that if they had such a nurse in the hospital, he would make her rich. Leaving, Mikhail tells the guys that they live dimly, do not see life with its joys.

Early March. Western Siberia. Village of an oil exploration expedition. In the Zemtsovs’ room are Misha and his wife Masha. She is thirty-nine years old and a geologist. Just ten weeks ago their daughter was born, and Masha is already bored. She cannot live without her work, which is why, as Mikhail says, three ex-husbands left her. Masha is burdened by the fact that Mikhail can be called to the hospital at any time of the day or night, and she must sit alone with Lesya. Loveiko, the Zemtsovs' neighbor, enters. He is thirty-eight years old, he works with Masha. Loveiko says that the area in Tuzhka where they worked was called unpromising. Masha wants to prove the opposite to everyone, but she has a child in her arms.

At this time the door opens, Nelya is standing on the threshold. She is very surprised that Misha is married, she did not know this. Misha does not immediately recognize her, but then he is sincerely happy, because “there is no one to look after his patients.” Nelya wants to stay with them until the fall so she can try to go to college again.

Moscow. Kai's apartment again. The guys remember Nelya all the time. She left without saying goodbye to anyone, without leaving an address, without saying where she was going. Kai painted her portrait and considers it his only success. Nikita thinks that Nelya left because she is expecting a child from him. Unexpectedly, Oleg Pavlovich, Kai’s stepfather, arrives for just two days. He brings him gifts and a letter from his mother.

Village of the oil exploration expedition, second half of July, Zemtsov’s room. Masha and Loveiko are going to leave for Tuzhok. Nelya brings Lesya from the nursery so that they can say goodbye, but Masha does not want this: she “said goodbye yesterday in the nursery.” Misha called

go to Baikul. Nelya is left alone with the child.

Mid August. Zemtsov's room. Misha and Nelya are drinking tea. Nelya tells him her story. She ran away from home after her parents forced her to have an abortion. She wanted to run away with her “boyfriend,” but he drove her away. Nelya asks Misha to marry her. Misha replies that he loves Masha. He “tells fortunes” to Nele’s palm. He tells her that Nelya loves someone else: he offended her, so she left. Nelya agrees. Misha says that everything can be fixed if the person is alive. And suddenly he reports that Masha has left them. Nelya asks him not to believe this.

End of September. Moscow. Evening. The guys are sitting in Kai's room. For the umpteenth time, Konstantinov Sr. comes, and Terenty is still as cold with him. Suddenly a woman comes. This is Nelya's mother. She is in her early forties. She is looking for her daughter. The guys say that Nelya left and did not leave an address. Nelya’s mother says that her husband is dying and wants to see her daughter one last time and ask for forgiveness. The guys can't help her. She leaves. Terenty believes that Nikita is to blame for Nelya’s departure. Kai says that everyone is to blame. They remember their childhood and wonder why they became so inhuman. Even Konstantinov Sr. suddenly opens up. He tells how he drank all his life, and when he came to his senses, he found himself alone.

Twentieth of October. Zemtsov's room. Masha came for one day. Nelya tells her how Mikhail died: he flew out to save a man, but due to an accident he drowned in a swamp. Now Nelya spends the night at their house, taking Lesya from the nursery - “so that life here will be warm,” she says that Misha loved her, Nelya, then admits that she came up with this in order to forget the other, and that Masha can be envied: such a person loved her! Masha leaves, leaving Lesya with Nelya. As a farewell, Nelya turns on Masha’s tape recorder, where Misha recorded his song for her.

Moscow. Beginning of December. Kai's room. Nikita and Terenty arrive. Kai says that Nelya has returned with her daughter. The girl caught a cold on the road. Nikita is not himself. Wants to leave. Nelya comes out of the next room with a girl in her arms. She says that she will leave when Lesya gets better, at least to her mother - she called her. Nikita wants to find out who the child's father is, but Nelya does not tell him. He asks if he would like this to be his child? He pushes her away. Nelya is crying. Terenty invites her to marry him.

Last days of December. Kai's room. Lesya sleeps in a new stroller. Nelya bought a big Christmas tree. Kai is sorting through toys. Nelya reminds again that she will be leaving soon. Kai doesn't want to believe it. Terenty dressed up as Santa Claus. Terenty's father brought Lesya a mechanical toy as a gift. The guys turn off the lights and twirl to the music.

Suddenly Masha enters. She asks where her daughter is. Nelya says that she took the girl away because Masha left her, abandoned her. Masha takes her daughter and says that all the games, including her own, are over. Leaves. Kai notices that the room has become empty. Nelya asks everyone for forgiveness. Nikita drives her away in a rage. Nelya collects her things and wants to leave. Konstantinov Sr. asks Nelya not to leave, not to leave the guys, Nelya remains silent. Kai slowly approaches her and takes her suitcase. Nikita takes off her jacket, Terenty takes off her scarf. They lit the Christmas tree and turned on the tape recorder. Terenty calls Konstantinov father for the first time and goes home with him. Kai gets dressed and goes out: he wants to look from the street at the Christmas tree in the house. Nikita and Nelya are left alone.

Retelling - Polezhaeva Yu. V.

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Alexey Nikolaevich Arbuzov
Cruel Games

Arbuzov Alexey Nikolaevich
Cruel Games

Dramatic scenes in two parts, eleven scenes

Then he grew up... He went for a walk... and walked between us, giving each of us a hand, knowing that we would support and teach him wisdom, feeling our tenderness and even love...

Edward Albee. I'm not afraid of Virginia Woolf

CHARACTERS

Kai Leonidov, 20 years, Nikita Likhachev, 20 years Terenty, 20 years, - school friends.

Nelya, arrived in Moscow, 19 years old.

Mishka Zemtsov, doctor, 30 years old.

Masha Zemtsova, geologist, 39 years old.

Konstantinov, father of Terenty, 50 years old.

Loveiko, neighbor of the Zemtsovs, 38 years old.

Oleg Pavlovich, stepfather of Kai, 43 years old.

Neli's mother, 44 years old.

Lyubasya, younger sister Nikita, 18 years old.

A girl who looks like an angel, a girl who doesn’t look like an angel at all - the author offers these roles to be played by one actress.

The action takes place in the late seventies in Moscow and in the oil fields in the Tyumen region.

PART ONE

PICTURE ONE

End of September.

A house on Tverskoy Boulevard, built at the beginning of the century. Spacious three-room apartment on the second floor, somewhat neglected.

In the room that was once his nursery, Kai sits in his usual position in a chair. He is twenty years old, casually dressed, with short hair, and was a good-looking boy as a child. It’s starting to get dark outside, but in the window you can still see the yellowed foliage of the boulevard blown by the wind. It's pouring heavy rain. On the threshold, peering into the semi-darkness of the room, stands Nelya, a simple-looking girl, not yet Muscovite in appearance. At her feet is a small suitcase.

Nelya (I saw Kai sitting). Hello. Your staircase door was not locked...

Kai. And what?

Nelya (condemning him). Still... alone in the apartment.

Kai. And what?

Nelya. Thieves can come in.

Kai. They don't come in.

Nelya. You should turn on the light. It got dark outside. Why talk in the dark?

Kai (lit the table lamp. Looked at Nelya). And where did you come from?

Nelya. Which?

Kai. Wet.

Nelya. Why do you call me “you”? No good.

Kai. Who do you need?

Nelya. Leonidov.

Kai. Strange. I didn't think anyone would need it.

Nelya (looked around). Your apartment is not tidy.

Kai. Without a doubt, my darling.

Nelya. Dust is everywhere.

Kai. And this is not excluded, my joy.

Nelya (was indignant). Can you speak seriously?

Kai. Laziness, my friend.

Nelya (looked at the easel). Are you an artist?

Kai. Not quite sure.

Nelya (I saw an aquarium). And do you like fish?

Kai (grinned). More than anyone else in the world. ( After a pause.) Further?

Nelya. Do you remember Ivetochka Gorshkova?

Kai. Not very happy with her.

Nelya. She sent me to you.

Kai. What's so?

Nelya. Shelter me. ( Quiet.) Shelter.

Kai (after a pause). Are you crazy?

Nelya. I have no one to live with - that’s it, Leonidov. I spent two nights at the station.

Kai. And we don't need tears. Without them, please.

Nelya. And I'm not going to. She cried her own. ( Not right away.) You have a three-room apartment, and you are alone here.

Kai. Logically everything is correct. But get out of here.

Nelya. And don’t be rude, I’m talking to you like a person. My affairs are not important, understand, Leonidov? There is no Moscow registration, and there is nowhere to go - keep this in mind. I lived with Ivetka for two months - we met in Metelitsa... I was completely in trouble then. She noticed immediately. “You,” he says, “are funny, live with me.” And in her apartment, you know, it’s a mess, to put it mildly. First this one, then that one, music plays, doors slam, some stay overnight. Laughter and sadness... But still a roof over your head. And suddenly a telegram: parents are returning. She was in tears, and then she gave your address. “Go,” he says, “there’s something in him.”

Kai. Why did you appear in Moscow?

Nelya. It was necessary to.

Kai. Talk more thoroughly.

Nelya. So tell me everything.

Kai. Understood. Your story is simple. Which institute didn't let you in?

Nelya (not right away). To the medical...

Kai. Did you miss too much?

Nelya. I was surprised myself, so much.

Kai. Did it appear from afar?

Nelya. There is a city of Rybinsk.

Kai. Go home.

Nelya. No home, Leonidov.

Kai. And parents?

Nelya. I hate them. In general, I feel sorry for the mother. And father. But I still hate it.

Kai (looked at her carefully). What is your name?

Nelya. Nelya.

Kai. A dog's name, if I'm not mistaken.

Nelya. In truth, it’s Lena. Nelya - they came up with it in class.

Kai. And you got very wet... Helen?

Nelya. Actually yes. Somehow it got frosty... It’s the end of September, but it’s cold.

Kai. The bottle is next to you. Pay attention. And cups. Pour it out, we'll have Starka.

Nelya. I see. Not little.

Kai. In that case, let's shudder, Helen. Otherwise you'll catch a cold. ( They are drinking.) Everything is fine. How old are you?

Nelya. Turned nineteen on Thursday.

Kai. You look older. You're lying, obviously?

Nelya. Actually, I lie often. Keep this in mind, Leonidov.

Kai. Should I pour more?

Nelya. Just not full, otherwise I’ll fall asleep. Do you have anything to snack on?

Kai. Snack on some candy. They are in a box.

Nelya. Some kind of childhood.

Kai. In Chicago, people only drink Starka with chocolate. ( Drank.) Do you have money?

Nelya(sympathetically). Do you need a lot? Actually, I don't have much.

Kai. Take it. Ten re. ( Hands out money.) And we'll leave it at that. Hello old lady.

Nelya. What are you doing? Are you persecuting me, you unfortunate fool? It's great for you that I came here.

Kai. Seriously?

Nelya. I did everything around the house at Ivetka’s - going to the store, making tea, cleaning... even doing laundry! Keep in mind, Leonidov, the same will happen to you. Your parents are abroad - you are alone here. And I don't need a salary. I’ll get a job, arrange my registration, and leave. ( Tries to smile.) You will still remember me.

Kai. You promise too much, Helen.

Nelya. And what? It's all true. ( Uncertain.) Maybe you're afraid of me? No need… ( She smiled, but it came out somehow pitifully.) I am cheerful.

Kai. Look, I'm ready for anything.

Nelya(very quiet). And what?

Kai(not right away). Why don’t you love your parents?

Nelya. They crossed out everything for me. ( She screamed.) All! Understood?! OK. Let's keep quiet.

Kai. Stay.

She sits silently for a long time.

Nelya. How old are you?

Kai. Two tens.

Nelya. You are the eldest. What's your name?

Kai. Kai.

Nelya. It's also not human.

Kai. Yulik. That's what my mother called me when I was a child.

Nelya. And what? Kai is better. And I will call you Boat.

Kai. Why Boat?

Nelya. Doesn't matter. Are you studying?

Kai. They wanted to see me as a lawyer. Left from the second year. Transferred to correspondence.

Nelya. You're not easy. Ivetka told me.

Kai. She's stupid. I love silence, mind you. So keep your nonsense down.

Nelya. I will try. And we won’t offend each other, right? ( After a pause.) Where will I sleep... here?

Kai. How is it... here?

Nelya. Well... With you?

Kai. What else.

Nelya(shrugged). What a strange one. ( With some surprise.) Thank you.

Kai(opens the door to the next room). There is a sofa in the corner, you can sit there, understand?

Nelya(looking back). You have it running here.

Kai. Occurs. ( After a pause.) And once upon a time they had fun here. There was a Christmas tree, Santa Claus came, everyone danced, and a beautiful woman in a white dress... Stop! To the kitchen! ( Almost evil.) Your farm is there.

The lights go out. But after a few moments it lights up again. Nelya is sleeping in the chair. In another corner Konstantinov sits motionless, old man unsightly looking. He's wearing a coat and hasn't even taken off his cap. Terenty appears, a nice, agile, obliging guy. He's in overalls, just home from work. I saw Konstantinov.

Terenty. Are you sitting?

Konstantinov. I've been here for a long time now. I thought you wouldn't come. Rain.

Terenty. What does rain have to do with it? The headman of the dormitory was elected.

Konstantinov. Have you chosen?

Terenty. They ordered. Where's Kai?

Konstantinov. No. I arrived an hour ago. He wasn't there.

Terenty(I saw Nelya sleeping). Check this out. ( Approached her.) What is this?

Konstantinov. I don't know. I arrived and she was already asleep.

Terenty. We drank here. ( Looked at the light bottle.) On the bottom. Nikita probably brought it.

Konstantinov. Troublesome.

Terenty(looks at Nelya). New girl...

Silence. Konstantinov looks at Terenty for a long time.

Konstantinov. What do you hear?

Terenty. Still.

Konstantinov. Tell me something.

Terenty. We saw each other the day before yesterday.

Konstantinov. Still... Time passed.

Terenty. The little hunchback almost fell off the scaffolding this morning.

Konstantinov. You see... You need to be more careful. ( After a pause.) I see that your hair seems to be getting darker.

Terenty. I can't find it.

Konstantinov(carefully). In vain, of course... You didn’t order... Only I bought us movie tickets again... Nearby, in “Repeat”. Shukshin is shown.

Terenty. We won’t go to the cinema with you, dad. ( Gives him tickets.) No need.

Terenty. Kai will come back... He'll tell you something.

Konstantinov(goes to the door, comes back). Don't refuse... I bought you a scarf. ( Gives him the package.) The cold weather is coming.

Terenty. You have the power to buy it yourself.

Konstantinov(quiet). Take it... son.

Terenty(not right away). OK. Go.

Konstantinov. Don't be angry... I'll come in. ( Leaves.)

Terenty takes out a packet of sugar, eggs, a bun, and two bottles of Buratino from his string bag.

Nelya wakes up in the chair. He watches Terenty’s actions with surprise.

Nelya. Who else are you here?

Terenty. Terenty. And here and everywhere. Wherever I go, Terenty is everywhere.

Nelya. Check this out.

Terenty. Did Nikita bring you?

Nelya. Which Nikita?

Terenty. Don't you know Nikita?

Nelya. I need your Nikita.

Terenty. What are you doing here?

Nelya. I live.

Terenty. It's been a long time, hasn't it?

Nelya. It's already two hours.

Terenty. That's why I came in yesterday, but you weren't there. Who are you, Kay? Relative?

Nelya. If you want to know, I was sent to him by fate.

Terenty. Should you drink Starka?

Nelya. At least.

Terenty. And she settled down in the chair... She’s sleeping, you see.

Nelya. I didn’t sleep for two nights, I sat at the station. Do you understand, Opinok?

Terenty. Is this why I am Openok?

Nelya. Similar

Terenty. I don't think so.

Nelya(after a pause). Why did you bring food?

Terenty. We'll drink tea.

Nelya. Forget about it - carry groceries. It's not your concern now.

Terenty. And I'm his friend.

Nelya. Does not look like it.

Terenty. From what?

Nelya. You will be much simpler than him.

Terenty. You know a lot. We have a brotherhood. Kai, then me and Nikita. Have you seen Nikita?

Nelya. What are you doing with Nikita to me?! From the same yard, or what?

Terenty. For what? I live in a hostel. Builder of Moscow. And Nikita’s relatives can’t be counted. Everyone lives in their own way. But the main thing here is Kai.

Nelya. And what... here?

Terenty. We just come – that’s all. I'm afraid you'll interfere with us.

Nelya(not right away). Listen, Opinok... Don’t give him this idea. I have nowhere to live. Absolutely. I left my parents. I'm wandering.

Terenty. Apparently, she did some business there.

Nelya(quiet). They did it.

Terenty. Well... they can. ( After a pause.) What's your name?

Nelya. Nelya.

Nikita enters. Long hair. Very nice. Friendly and cheerful. Dressed simply, but with the times in mind. Not paying attention to those present, he leisurely takes off his shoes, silently lies down on the carpet, and stretches.

Nikita. Hello people.

Terenty(Nele, respectfully). Nikita.

Nikita(looks at the ceiling). We have a woman, it seems.

Terenty. It doesn't seem like it, but it is.

Nikita. Smart women help while away rainy evenings. They help us if they wow. Wow! Started talking vulgarities. I'm becoming senile. A bad sign.

Nelya. Are you crazy?

Nikita(turned to Nelya). Who is she?

Terenty. Kai brought it.

Nikita. All. I fell in love at first sight. ( Claps Nelya with his palm just below her back.)

Nelya(got angry). Listen, you!...

Kai enters. Everyone fell silent.

Kai. My feet got wet, it seems.

Nikita. Where were you?

Kai. He looked at the rain. ( With some interest.) It’s curious after all... It’s leaden - rain. ( Walked up to the easel.) If you could write it like this - a naked man, and drops pierce his skin, sharp lead drops.

Nikita. Sausage on the table! Tea, Terenty!

Nelya. Let's go, Openok. ( Leaves with Terenty.)

Nikita. What new arrival is this?

Kai. It didn't work out for her. One in the city. Let him spend the night.

Nikita. Somewhat untidy.

Kai. It will wash off. ( Grinned.) The floor will be swept. Tea will be prepared.

Nikita. Scientific Secretary?

Kai. Apparently I've suffered enough. I really wanted to please. Imagine, he suddenly asks: “Will I sleep with you?”

Nikita. He thinks he has to. Noble act. ( I looked towards the departed Nelya.) No, she looks pretty. ( Smiled.) Should I give you a hint?

Kai. What?

Nikita(playfully). After all, I’m the boss here... to some extent.

Kai. You need to be more picky, honey.

Nikita. Do you think so? ( Turned around.) And here one idiot complained to me. “Life,” he says, “is very short.” ( Leaves.)

Kai goes to the window, looks at the rain, then returns to the easel. Then he takes a brush and boldly draws a question mark on the picture with red paint.

Kai. No... Still no and no.

Terenty enters.

Terenty(looking at the picture). What are you doing? I've been drawing for a long time.

Kai(furiously). Wrote! I wrote, not drew! How many times should I tell you... Idiot!

Terenty(after a pause, quietly). Why are you doing this?

Kai. Sorry.

Some silence.

Terenty(suddenly smiled). Nikita started hitting on the girl... I’m not tired of it. ( Suddenly.) Yesterday I attended an amateur concert. Interested. Let’s say you give a speech and people listen to you. They don't even interrupt. No... interesting. ( After a pause.) Tell me, Kai, how to interpret this word - self-knowledge?

Kai. Self-knowledge is probably an escape from oneself. To see yourself, to know yourself, you need to step aside, not notice yourself, leave... And then suddenly turn around and see... without hesitation.

Terenty. Tricky. ( I was silent again.) But what’s better than anything in the world?

Kai. Childhood.

Terenty. What do you think about most?

Kai. About kindness.

Blackout.

PICTURE TWO

Mid November. In the evening. Kai's room again. Kai is in the chair, scribbling something with charcoal on a large notebook.

At his feet, on a small step, sits a girl who looks like an angel. She is knitting.

Young woman(after a long silence). So you don't love anyone?

Kai. No one.

Young woman. And your mother?

Kai. Her husband loves her. She's had enough.

Young woman. And no one else?

Kai. What for?

Young woman(not right away). I'll smoke.

Kai. Just open the window.

Young woman. Fine. ( Smiled.) I'll be patient.

Konstantinov enters and hesitates at the door.

Konstantinov. Good evening... Terenty hasn't come in?

Kai. Will appear.

Konstantinov. It is snowing...Can I interfere?

Kai(indifferently). Sit down.

Konstantinov. Thank you.

Young woman. And you Entrance door is it always open?

Kai. Always.

Young woman. Why?

Kai. I am waiting. What if someone comes in?

Young woman(knits everything). You to atomic bomb how do you feel?

Kai. No way, perhaps.

Young woman. And you don’t feel sorry for people at all?

Kai. I don’t even feel sorry for myself.

Young woman. And I feel sorry for myself.

Kai. You are fool.

Nelya comes in with a bag.

Nelya. Hello everyone. And I was frozen. Mittens because they have holes. Hello, Uncle Seryozha.

Konstantinov(perked up). Great. What's at work?

Nelya. Wallpaper glue. ( Funny.) A benefactor has shown up and promises registration. I'm still on a bird's license. The foreman is barely alive out of fear.

Konstantinov. Registration would be nice... They will give you a hostel. Like Terentia.

Nelya. Give it time - everything will be done. ( Taking groceries out of bag.) Kai, ah, Kai, got some sausages! Cook?

Kai. I'd like some coffee...

Nelya. There will be coffee for you too, Boat... ( I looked at the girl, then at Konstantinov..) Still... maybe you’re disturbing them?

Konstantinov. Allowed.

Nelya. Then sit. Where should I put my broom?... ( Goes to the kitchen.)

Konstantinov. Cheerful... Here's to wooing Terentia.

Kai finished the drawing and examines it.

Young woman. Show me.

Kai. Nonsense. ( Tears the drawing.)

Young woman. What was there?

Kai. I wanted to draw your thoughts.

Young woman. Do you know them?

Kai. I know everything. ( I thought.) And I can’t do anything.

Nikita enters.

Nikita. How are you?... Are you happy?

Kai. So-so. And you are strong: you didn’t show up for three days.

Nikita. There was a lot of fuss. Both in work and in personal life. I took first places everywhere. Did the ladies call?

Kai. Incessantly. Fatigue does not take your ladies.

Nikita. You cover for me until Sunday, say: he left for Dubna.

Konstantinov(rising up). Maybe he won't come today?

Kai. Just wait a little longer.

Konstantinov sits down awkwardly.

(Nikita.) And I have news. I was at the rector's office in the morning, and in absentia on the side. All. Free!

Nikita. I can't approve. Understand too. Learning is fun. Being the first – even more so.

Kai. And I'm not into you. Not capable of being the first.

Nikita(after thinking). What will the parents say?

Kai. They will calm down... as a result.

Nelya returned and saw Nikita.

Nelya. Appeared?

Nikita. Where should we go, Elena Petrovna?

Nelya. Did you receive a prize?

Nikita. There was no such Mathematical Olympiad that was bypassed. ( Looked at her.) Wow! New shoes were purchased.

Nelya. Did you notice?

Nikita. You can't hide anything from me.

The girl folds her knitting and stands up.

Kai. Come tomorrow?

Young woman. Is it really necessary?

Kai. Bored with me?

Young woman. Maybe with you. Or maybe it's completely boring. We need to think.

Kai. Go think. This is the idea.

The girl leaves.

Nelya. Listen, Bubenchik, I found out: you like aerated chocolate... I got it for you. They were for ten rubles, but I bought them for fifty rubles. Not better, not more. Have a snack.

Nikita(takes chocolate). Nice of you.

Terenty entered.

Terenty. Great. I brought five bottles of Buratino: they gave it at Kalininsky. ( Saw Konstantinov.) And are you here?

Konstantinov(hesitated). Well? What's new?

Terenty(in hearts). We see each other almost every other day - what’s new? It would be better to go to the hostel.

Konstantinov. So here you are in the evenings.

Terenty(not right away). They want to raise my rank.

Konstantinov. You see now… ( Carefully.) I bought the portrait of the writer Shukshin... I even glazed it. Nail it on the wall wherever you like.

Terenty. I would have thought about this before. ( Goes to the kitchen with Pinocchio.)

Nelya(smiling, Nikita). And when you chew, your ears almost move.

Nikita. It can not be.

Nelya. You would take me to the pool when you set records.

Nikita. I'm afraid you'll faint from the stress.

Seeing that no one is looking at him, Konstantinov quietly leaves.

Nelya. Uncle Seryozha left... He waited, he waited... I can’t approve of Terenty: he’s still a father.

The girl appears again. Without saying a word, he sits down on the little spot at Kai’s feet and takes out his knitting.

Nelya. People come and go... Of course: the door is unlocked.

Young woman. Now what are you drawing?

Kai. What is the puppy thinking about?

Young woman. Do you love animals?

Kai. I loved them as a child.

Young woman. Did you fall out of love later?

Kai. I did something disgusting once. Killed a cat.

Young woman(I was horrified). For what?

Kai. Reminded me of one person.

Young woman. I'll smoke anyway.

Kai. I didn't think about killing her. Just hit. But she died.

Young woman. Did you feel sorry for her later?

Kai. I felt sorry for myself.

Nelya(I saw my doll on the floor). Here are the villains - a doll on the floor, but they don’t see.

Nikita. It suits you with a doll. Impressive.

Nelya(kindly). She’s my friend... we haven’t parted for fifteen years. ( After a pause.) But explain, Bubenchik, you and Terenty come here almost every evening... Why?

Nikita. Unknown. ( Screams.) Kai, Nelka asks: why do we come to you?

Kai. No one knows. This is some kind of nonsense.

Nikita. In fact of the matter. For example, I... go here, which, in essence, is, of course, amazing. I have an exemplary family - a lot of people! – brothers, sisters, nephews, parents. Even my great-grandfather lives, by the way, he was a terrorist: he killed some governor. In short, a mass of diverse people, and all are alive, all healthy, all promising.

Nelya. Why don't you strive to go home?

Nikita. But it doesn't make sense. All the same, except for your great-grandfather, you won’t find anyone at home. And everyone has lunch at different times.

Nelya. Why?

Nikita. Because we don’t have idle people, everyone is busy. Damn progressive because. We don't even see each other for weeks. One day my younger sister wakes up and says to me: listen, guy, what’s your name?

Nelya(laughs). You're making it up.

Nikita. Let me generalize. We see each other sometimes in the summer. On Sundays. This is where it turns out that things are going great for everyone.

Young woman(gets up in a hurry). No…

Kai. What - no?

Young woman. I probably won't come again. Never.

Kai. Do not come.

The girl quickly kisses Kai's hand. Runs away.

Kai. Sorry, no champagne.

Nelya. Don't be discouraged, Boat. And I will move away from you soon. They promise a hostel.

Kai. Will you gain much?

Nelya. You should prepare for exams.

Nikita. Have you thought about gutting the corpses yet?

Nelya. And I won't change my mind. Being a doctor is my main idea.

Terenty(coming from the kitchen). Gee, I ate someone’s sausages.

Nelya(I was horrified). All?

Terenty. I'm delicate - I left three things.

Nelya. Then order. Give it to Kai.

Kai. I've been waiting half an hour for coffee.

Terenty. Have a seat. I brought you your coffee.

Kai and Terenty start dinner. Nikita is looking through a magazine on the side, reading in English.

Terenty. What's happened?

Nikita. They advise everyone to go to the Canary Islands.

Terenty. Will be done.

Nelya(went up to Nikita). Nikita... What can I tell you...

Nikita(looked up from the magazine). Exactly?

Nelya. Don’t go home to sleep tonight... Stay...

Nikita(smiled and stroked her nose with his finger). It is forbidden.

Nelya. Why?

Nikita. In the morning training in the pool. How the string should be.

Nelya(not right away). Are you good to me... Little bell?

Nikita. Wonderful.

Nelya. And you're not afraid of me at all?

Nikita. I'm definitely not afraid.

Nelya(smiled). What if I take it and give birth to a daughter for you?

Nikita(carelessly). We'll get by, I think.

Nelya playfully began rocking her doll.

Nikita. (He looked at her and shook his finger.) Look, Nelka!…

Terenty(rises). Quiet, everyone! (.)

Disappear, gloomy spirit of doubt! –
The messenger of heaven answered. –
You have triumphed enough.
But the hour of judgment has now come -
And God's decision is good!
...And the defeated Demon cursed
Your crazy dreams,
And again he remained, arrogant,
Alone, as before, in the universe
Without hope and love

. (Becomes silent. Looks at everyone.)

Kai(dumbfounded). What is this?

Terenty. I’ll read it at the amateur evening. It started to fascinate me. Strongly.

Nikita. Have you decided to become an artist?

Terenty. For what? I love my job. And here a hobby is emerging.

The phone rings.

Kai(picked up the phone). Well? He is not here. I didn't come in for three days. Who's cooing? Okay, I'll pass it on. ( Hangs up the phone.) I'm tired of your women.

Nikita. Yes, drive them away... Wait, who called?

Kai. Oleneva.

Nikita. Lelya? You should have hung up the phone in vain. There is a special article here... If he calls again, say: on Saturday, as agreed.

Terenty. You can also read Turgenev; “How beautiful, how fresh the roses were.”

Nikita. Just wait... ( Flips through notebook .) I don’t even have her phone number written down.

Nelya(suddenly). Nikita... are you kind?

Kai. He's not evil.

Nelya. But not being evil does not mean being kind, Boat.

Kai. Right. Terenty is kind. Nick is not evil. I'm angry. This is how we distribute ourselves.

Terenty(suddenly hot and again out of place). No, that's not the main thing! That’s not the main thing... You know, Nelka, we’ve been together since childhood... We can keep silent about anything with each other. We are not fools - we don’t play cards! It is a great thing to be silent together. Not everyone can...

Nelya sits in the corner, quietly crying.

Kai. Leave the room.

Blackout.

PICTURE THREE

Late evening at the end of January.

Order had finally returned to Kai's room. Perhaps it’s even become cozy – today, anyway. Soft light. Mishka Zemtsov, Kai, Terenty are sitting at the table. A bottle of cognac is open. Terenty drinks tea.

bear(sings quietly, playing along with himself on the guitar).

Behind the wood warehouses, behind the bathhouse,
Behind the dunes, without going to sleep,
All night the fisherman played the button accordion
And the woman looked at the moon.
It was Saturday. Lunar Saturday.
And that fisherman sadly concluded
The same low notes
Same slow tune.
And the woman sat and watched
To the white distant moon.
I didn't cry. And she didn’t sing about anything.
She sat and looked at the moon.
And that fisherman finished the tune
And he started to lead him all over again.
Finished! And started it again!
And the woman sat and was silent...

(He put the guitar aside. Pouring cognac. Terenty.) Will sip tea, young man. Get down to business.

Terenty. They say I don’t drink.

bear. Cognac?

Terenty. If you kill me, I won’t drink.

bear(Kaya). Where did you get such a miracle?

Terenty. I am a childhood friend.

bear. Search... ( Raise your glass, Kayu.) For parents.

Kai. Something more fun would be nice.

bear. Are you in conflict?

Kai. Out of habit. Second year apart. True, your aunt – my mother, to put it simply, spoils me with letters all the time. In general, it adheres to decorum.

bear. Do you still not honor your stepfather?

Kai. From what? He is a handsome young man. I feel sorry for them, of course: this is the second year in Iceland, among the geysers. You won't go wild.

bear. Can't you see your father at all?

Kai. Where should we meet now? At Bologoye station? He now has a new family in Leningrad. A son, they say, was born. ( Grinned.) My brother. ( Handed out a glass.) Splash it.

bear(not right away). Don't be too dramatic... It's hardly worth it. My parents are cheerful people: they send such correspondence from Nalchik - you will die of laughter. ( Raises his glass.) You do what you want, and I’m for them.

The door opens and Nikita comes in from the street.

Nikita(looked around). Do you accept guests?

Kai. Meet my cousin. He got stuck in Moscow for one night and is spending the night with me. Ten years older than me. Centuries between us.

bear(extended his hand). Mishka Zemtsov. Doctor. I play the guitar.

Kai. Don't be a fool. He is our personality - an enthusiast of the sixties. Have you heard of these? Sits in the Tyumen region on oil. He treats bears in the taiga.

Nikita. Fashionable places. My cousin goes missing there. Supplies someone with something. With some success.

Kai. A great mathematician is in front of you. Just A's.

Nikita. What can you do, you have to. Since childhood, I was destined for the first roles.

bear. That's how it is.

Nikita. And in our family there were no misfires at all.

bear. It's clear. You have a great experience of success. Have you had any experience of trouble?

Nikita. What, what?

bear. Okay, time will tell. ( Pouring cognac.) And now for my daughter. For the only one.

Terenty. Already got one?

bear. Experienced taiga woman. Five weeks old.

Terenty(clinks a cup of tea with him). You seem to be a man with meaning, Zemtsov, go ahead and give birth.

bear. The conditions are difficult. If I lived in Moscow, I would have about fourteen of them. ( He picked up his guitar again and sang.)

I ate little and thought a lot
You ate a lot and thought little
And as a result - how can this be? –
You are smart, and I am a fool.
You laugh - I'll cry
You save and I spend.
Do you remember - I already forgot
You know - I don’t know anymore.
But if you forgive me,
Then I never forgive.
I ate little and thought a lot
You ate a lot and thought little
And as a result - how can this be?
You are smart, and I am a fool.

Nelya came in from the street. She listened to Mishka singing.

Nelya. Hello everyone.

Terenty. Why is it so late?

Nelya. Accepted congratulations. They provide hostel accommodation.

Terenty. So... Our happiness is over. I have to run for groceries again.

Nelya. I drank beer with the guys and ate some cheese. That's it, guys. ( Goes into the next room.)

bear. Who is this?

Terenty. Our scientific secretary.

Kai. Temporarily sheltered. Helps with housework.

bear. Sweet girl.

Kai. And Nikita thinks.

Nikita(sharp). Nonsense.

Brief silence.

Terenty. How about the animals there... variety?

bear. Not too much. There are bears, and there are countless snakes.

Kai. Haven't got a bear skin yet?

bear. Trouble. I shot a friend in the spring, took off the skin, and it climbs... In the spring the bear sheds... For six months we cannot escape from its fur.

Nelya came out of the next room and listened carefully to Mishka.

But in general, our life is interesting... The taiga around us doesn’t look like a clinic. And if you go into the wilderness with a search party, life there is of a completely special kind. You crawl through the swamp as if through a minefield: careless movement - and goodbye, Mishka! Sometimes you can crawl one kilometer in five hours - no more. Or ford a river when there is slush: if you hesitate a little, you’ll freeze into the ice. Yes... Which I didn’t have to see. At first I couldn’t sleep at all in the taiga, especially if I didn’t have to sleep in a tent, near a fire. Rushing around, rustling... As if I felt naked... Unconcealed, or something. And then I got used to it, and nowhere did I sleep so soundly. Hang your shirt on pegs above your head - that’s your home! And you sleep and see dreams like nowhere else... And you wake up with the first sun, open your eyes - life!

Nelya. What is your name?

bear. Zemtsov Mikhail.

Nelya. And I'm Nelya.

bear. Greetings.

Nelya. I will also be a doctor.

Nikita. Don't be so quick to boast. They didn't accept it.

bear. Did you cut it?

Nelya. And what? I will still achieve my goal.

bear. For now, go to the hospital as a nurse... You need experience.

Nelya. Was. In Kineshma I spent six months looking after the sick. It didn't help during the exams.

bear. I wish I had a nurse like that... He'd make me rich! ( Takes cognac.) Let's have a drink for the occasion. Left at the bottom.

Nelya. And I’m already cheerful from beer.

bear. Okay... I'll drink what's left. ( He walked up to the wall where Kai’s drawings hang.) Yours?

Kai. Imagine. I play these games.

bear. You won't understand what.

Kai. Included in the rules of the game. ( Hands out a folder.) Look at these.

Mishka looks at the drawings. Nikita approaches Nelya.

Nelya(grinning). Well, my dear, my joy, my sunshine, what are you looking at?

Nikita(uncertain). Not today, I hope you'll leave?

Nelya. You're right in hoping - not today. ( Laughed quietly.)

Nikita. Why laugh?

Nelya. But I imagine how I’ll leave and won’t give you my address. And you’ll start looking for me everywhere... You’ll go to the address desk and start wringing your hands in despair. So, poor boy?

Nikita. OK… ( Almost affectionately.) Stop it, Nelka.

Nelya. But in truth, everything is over with you. We say goodbye, Bubenchik... My little orphan.

Nikita. Here's what... Listen... ( Takes you by the elbow.)

Nelya(pulls out his hand). Let go! ( She brought her face closer to him.) And maybe I don’t love you more than anyone in the world? And get away from me. Leave forever.

Nikita. Why are you being capricious... it’s unclear.

Nelya. Maybe I'm pregnant from you? In the sixth month? ( She grinned.) I was so scared... Oh, my priceless A student!

Nikita. Talking to you today... ( He waved his hand and went to Terenty..)

Terenty. Have some tea. And don’t argue with women - they are forever right.

bear(returns the folder to Kai). These ones will be clearer. ( After thinking.) Maybe it’s good, it’s not for me to judge, of course... ( Flushing a little.) Why is it all rain, rain, rain... Is sunny weather not in fashion?

Kai. As I see, so I write. Don't pretend.

bear. Or maybe you see poorly? This is also an art - to see.

Kai. Well, there is a way out. I'll buy a camera and tell you good weather.

bear. That’s not the point, Yulka, everything here is dead... Without light, without the reflection of day... ( Getting excited.) So you are rebelling, you left the institute - and whose money do you live on? Mommy sends. I don't see the logic, my friend.

Nikita. Are you talking too condescendingly, Misha?

bear(fell silent, suddenly smiled). Your truth is screaming from above. Ugly. ( I thought.) Although, to be honest, you guys live a dim life here. A bit sour, overall.

Nikita. I can’t attribute this to myself. I live happily. Quite.

bear(furiously). Have you seen the fun... fool? ( Shows him the cookie.) You saw him!

Nelya. Why make noise? It would be better to feel sorry for them.

Blackout.

PICTURE FOUR

Early March. Western Siberia. Village of an oil exploration expedition.

The Zemtsovs' room in a two-story log house. There is no order here - things are at odds with each other, no trace of a woman’s hand is visible. Evening time. Outside the windows there is snowfall and wind. And then the stove crackles, it’s warm. In the corner, in a homemade cradle, two-month-old Lesya sleeps. Masha Zemtsova is drinking tea at the table, and Mishka is writing something in her notebook nearby. Zemtsova will soon be forty - this is dense beautiful woman with a mocking, restless look.