The world is made of restrictions

The play Fat Pig by modern American writer Neil LaBute, which has been showed widely in the US, has not been practically staged in Europe. The production involved the young artistes, such as Iryna Borshchevska, Anna Hrynchak, Olena Neshcheret, Stanislav Bobko, Liubov Tyshchenko, Yevhenii Avdeienko, and Oleksii Polishchuk.

The target audience of the play is young people, but it will be interesting of people of various ages. At first sight it may seem that the play is about life, which is true, but the most important problem piercing the play is very acute today and ruins whole generations. It is the problem of conformism, when a person gives in his spiritual ideals and views to meet the conventional views and norms of life. Seeking to be like others, he “puts the lid on his own desires.” Young office clerk Tom accidentally meets a librarian Helen in a cafe. They develop moving relationships which give way to love. But alas! The heroine’s overweight, for which people call her a “fat pig,” becomes an obstacle. Tom is happy, but he ashamed to appear with Helen in public places: what will people say? Indeed, his colleagues and friends condemn him, and even mock at him.

Tom, played by Stanislav Bobko, is the central figure, embodying all the qualities of a conformist. He cannot overstep the limits of public opinion: she is a “fat pig,” just a librarian, whereas he is a promising specialist, who deserves another girl, according to his colleagues. He is a week-willed person. He loves Helen, but destroys the mutual feelings, which have just emerged between them, to please his milieu. Romantic and shy, Tom does not accept the life stand of his friend Carter and other colleagues concerning women, but still conforms to the secret laws of the surrounding.

Carter (Yevhenii Avdeienko), Tom’s fellow and friend, is the direct opposite of Tom, he is not only typical representative of the surrounding, he actively forms it. His attitude to women is light-minded. The actor’s performance is full of vigor. He has a devilish charisma, and this dynamic stream of energy fills the hall and the stage. But some sincere things do break through the bravado.

The lightest person in the production is Helen, performed by Anna Hrynchak (her beautiful face, she’s charming and kind, and has a subtle sense of humor). The heroine’s only drawback is her overweight. But she’s strong and self-sufficient. She has no complexes. Helen evokes compassion and respect, but no pity. She is ready to suffer in order to put off weight for her beloved. Compared to her, Tom looks a miserable nonentity.

The production’s director Mykhailo Reznikovych set a most complicated task before the audience: to play on the verge of genres. It is a combination of conditional theater and deep emotions. The actress is aptly maneuvering. In the conditional silhouette of the “fat pig” (she puts on weight before the audience with the help of big balls), the actress plays according to the laws of psychological theater, so the audience doesn’t notice the balls. The character is emphasized by a melancholy melody by composer Yurii Shevchenko, which sounds as a leitmotif during the whole performance, like the strings of Helen’s subtle soul.

The director finds an interesting move: a trio of young people is acting on stage (they also perform the roles in the second lineup): Iryna Borshchevska, Oleksii Polishchuk, and Liubov Tyshchenko. Not only to they bear the functional meaning, when the picture changes, they also strengthen the play, helping in creation of the play’s atmosphere, react to the events and sing songs. Helen sings with them at the beginning and finale of the performance. But in the finale, the actress should be paid her dues, reacts to Tom’s confession in such a passionate and sincere way, that the epilogue, when after the confession she sings with her friends a song about men’s insidiousness seems an illustration, and the audience does not have time to switch to it, it is still in the tense emotional scene of their breakup. A special note should be taken about the modern stylistics of the play, the language and manner of behavior. Natalia Burlaka’s dancing decision is quite interesting. The play calls young people to be themselves, not betray their views and beliefs to please the surrounding and have their own opinion.