American-Georgian Reality on the Stage of Georgian Theatre

Lasha Chkhartishvili’s article “American-Georgian reality (About the issue of John Steinbeck’s and Rezo Kldiashvili’s character’s identity)” is given examination of several issues about the identity of John Steinbeck’s “Tortilla Flat” and Rezo Kldiashvili’s play “Pylon” and about their interpretation on the stage of modern Georgian theatre.

Based on themes variation and plot construction of the novel of John Steinbeck for Georgian reality by dramatist Rezo Kldiashvili was created thoroughly new artistic text for Georgian theatre. Georgian playwright captured those motives in American novel that was closer and urgent for Georgian reality but the Steinbeck’ atmosphere created in his novel has been left invariable. In this work is discussed parallel Georgian reality and interpretation of this reality in modern Georgian theatre.    

In opinion of Lasha Chkhartishvili in Rezo Kldiashvili’s text simultaneously of each other is kept atmosphere of the novel and is created thoroughly new Georgian reality that has as global disposition as the novel of Steinbeck. Lasha Chkhartishvili’s report exactly is dedicated to the problems of the identity of these two writings.

In the article also is considered issues of Rezo Kldiashvilis’s “Pylon’s” scenic interpretations in Georgian theatre.

The reader's interest in John Steinbeck's writings is fueled by the writer's attitude towards life and the form through which he portrays the real picture of the world. He tells us stories of the people full of kindness and generosity; they might be in despair and even unacceptable for the society, but they are kind and deserve the reader's sympathy. The writer tries to demonstrate positive personal traits in such people in order to make us love them. "The life must be depicted as it is, without any kind of disguise." He always maintained his faith in the mankind. That's why even most desperate of his characters never lose hope for better future and keep dreaming.

Tortilla Flat was published in 1935, before Steinbeck's visit to Georgia. He visited Georgia for the first time in 1947 - 12 years after the publication of the story. He was accompanied by a famous photographer Robert Kappa. It was during his stay in Georgia that Steinbeck discovered resemblance between the Georgians and the protagonists of Tortilla Flat. Mikheil Adamishvili confirms this fact in his memoirs: "It was their last day in Tbilisi and despite overexhaustion they John Steinbeck and Robert Kappa were invited to the restaurant nearby the funicular. The place is overlooking the Mtkvari valley reminding Steinbeck of the valley of New-Mexico. Steinbeck remembered this beautiful view and the city lit by the lamp-lights and also golden-colored evening sky on the background of black peaks of Caucasian mountains. During the feast the protagonists of Tortilla Flat came to his mind even more vividly. "This kind of spiritual communion, like us, is not strange for Georgia" - concluded the writer. (M. Mosulishvili, "On the Funicular", "Literaturuli Palitra", #7 (46), July, 2008).

John Steinbeck's artistic world and his characters go beyond the American boundaries and they are as familiar for the transatlantic world as for Americans themselves. American Steinbeck scholar, professor Susan Shillinglaw, who visited Georgia after 64 years from Steinbeck's visit, also confirms this. In her interview with the journal "Tskheli Shokoladi", she stated: "Georgia was for the Soviet Union approximately the same as the California is for the United States. It is obvious in the Russian Journal that like California it is a Promised Land everybody wants to visit. Steinbeck was particularly fascinated by this country. In addition to this, he was fond of history, ancient myths and legends. And Georgia is famous for them. After returning to America Steinbeck wrote a book entitled East of Eden, in which the imact of Georgia and Georgian impressions can be easily traced (Nino Chimakadze, East of Eden: An Interview with Susan Shillinglaw, "Tskheli Shokoladi", November 30, 2011). The reader can discover similarities between the Georgian and American characters and landscape almost in all of the Steinbeck's stories though in this respect Tortilla Flat seems to be the most convenient material. Georgian playwright, Rezo Kldiashvili, inspired by it, created a new Georgian world for the theatrical representation.

Reinterpretation and transformation of older literary sources or plots is a commonly used device in postmodern world literature. From the second half of the 20th century it became popular to make the so-called "secondary literature". It is true that the origin of this process can be traced back as early as classical antiquity, but in postmodern era this process acquired different shape manifested in the invention of completely new plot, "continuation of the story" based on the older text. Rezo Kldiashvili's dramatic text Pilon, inspired by Tortilla Flat, provides an interesting example. Its theatricality has been proved by the fact that it has been staged three times in Georgian theatres and the value of the dramatic text depends on its theatrical/performance  possibilities as it is written to be staged.

Pilon was written in 2005 as a mono-play but in 2007 at the request of Poti Theatre and stage director Irakli Gogia new characters were added to this mono-play. So far there are three stage versions of this play in Georgian theatres:

1. Atoneli Theatre (director David Nikoladze, the premier was held on November 5, 2005)

2. Poti Valerian Gunia State Drama Theatre (director Irakli Gogia, the premier was held on August 26, 2007)

3. The Theatre of Georgian Technical University (director Nugzar Butskhrikidze, the premier held on June 8, 2011)

In his story John Steinbeck describes the tragic life of the paisanos. The fate of unemployed and aimless people is not only tragic but similarly meaningless in America as well as in any other country. The writer conveys human grief and melancholy, the power of kindness, generosity and sympathy; he reveals pain and joy in the lives of even such people who are destined to die in poverty but are helpless to change their fate.

Tortilla Flat is a story about friendship and the humanity written in a simple language resembling that of Hemingway. Danny is the central figure of the story. He is an enriched poor who inherited two flats in Tortilla Flat. The wealth changed him like everybody else. "When a man is plunged in poverty, he thinks that he would share money with his friends if he had it. But as soon as he gets the money, the generosity disappears immediately." And Danny is not an exception - he is like all other enriched men outside the story.  

Steinbeck describes real situations and persons. Everything is so real that one thinks that the plot is unfolding around him. One of Danny's friends is Pilon - a pirate distinguished with many human virtues. His character is portrayed not by direct characterization but through situations in which he acts while Pilon's character in Rezo Kldiashvili's play is revealed in dialogues and monologues. Steinbeck's California is replaced by Georgia and Tortilla Flat - by Kutaisi and its famous neighborhood  of Sapichkhia. If the friendship is disrupted in the story, in Kldiashvili's play the events takes place in the aftermath of this destroyed friendship - after 11 years from Danny's death.

As far as the transformation of the protagonist is concerned, the 'Georgian Pilon" retains many characteristic traits of Steinbeck's Pilon but the invention of new, secondary plot added many new features to the character. For instance, he is more a  goal-oriented man than a dreamer (he is confident that he will discover the hidden treasure). On the other hand, he looses feeling of dignity and honor, though he is trying hard to regain it. After the end of the friendship Kldiashvili's Pilon becomes more tolerant and the process of cognition starts.

The Georgian playwright leaves Pilon's many characteristics unchanged. The other traits of the character are predetermined by the invention of the new plot which is a kind of continuation of the story, a kind of bridge to Pilon's future life. The following episodes of his life show that he becomes much more tolerant. In his monologues we read his confessions and evaluations of the past life after 11 years. He concludes that he has not changed.

Rezo Kldiashvili's artistic mastery is evident in the introduction of the new protagonist, Jorje into the play. He describes Pilon's life after the disruption of "Danny's brotherhood" so that the atmosphere of Steinbeck's story is maintained until Pilon's conversation with his dead friend when the setting completely changes and the language of the play is replaced by the different mode of Georgian speech (Imeretian dialect and jargon). The introduction of Jorje is logically motivated and completely subordinated to the logic of plot development. Steinbeck ends the story with the end of the brotherhood, while Kldiashvili keeps Pilon alive and enables him to revaluate all the events. Through Jorje, also, he throws light upon the phenomenon of the Piasons.

If the central figures of the story are the inhabitants of Tortilla Flat, the central figure of Rezo Kldiashvili's play is Pilon. That's why the author called the play Pilon. The basis for the introduction of Jorje in the plot is provided by Steinbeck himself - he mentions that the piasons, among others, are Caucasians too; in addition, Steinbeck was familiar with Georgia very well and that's why the playwright avoided creating the Caucasian typical character and introduced a protagonist speaking Imeretian dialect and using Kutaisi jargon in his speech. Most significantly, the specific humor characteristic to this city is organically woven into the texture of the play. The intrusion of strange/different intonation and accent creates new artistic reality.  Jorje is a typical Georgian with all positive and negative characteristics. He uses abusive language as other Georgians do and possesses vast and deep inner world causing the reader's and spectator's compassion.

Rezo Kldiashvili's play is like a strange and unusual dream in which the way of life of one man is reevaluated and summed up. The playwright manages to retain the traits of Steinbeck's protagonist and simultaneously shows new, unknown sides of the character. In the play the protagonist meets old and new characters after years. Pilon's actions are limited to meeting his dead friends who look like some kind of spiritual beings. Their dialogues trigger much sadness and at the same time provide the key to the new criteria of human values. This text is actual in contemporary Georgia where the people are becoming more and more estranged and alienated from each other in the globalization era.

Rezo Kldiashvili's play was also staged by Irakli Gogia within the framework of Tbilisi International Theatre Festival "Tbilisi International" "Georgian Show Case". The performance deserved approval of critics and producers from different European and Asian countries. They unanimously emphasized that the golden middle was achieved both in the play and the performance  by maintaining Steinbeck's atmosphere on the one hand, and by creating new Georgian reality, on the other. Here is an extract from the festival digest survey: "This spectacle reflects human relations and values characteristic to egocentric, narcissistic society where only  'self' dominates. Pilon's intuitive thinking deserves special interests as he remains a conscientious individual despite hard social conditions."

Nugzar Putskhrikidze's stage interpretation of the play realized by the Theatre of Georgian Technical University was presented to the spectators at Sandkorn Theatre in Karlsruhe, Germany.  The performance was followed by a wide resonance. Ute Epigner wrote: "There is a very interesting character in the play - a Caucasian paisano from Kutaisi - Jorje who pays a sack of treasure for his reburial. The drunkard Pilon is looking for the treasure but the treasure is protected by the spirits. Pilon finds the treasure and the faith in kindness returns to him. He believes that the kindness will triumph and the God's city will be built on the ruins." (Ute Epigner, Pilon Believes in Kindness Again, June 14, 2011). In Germany the play was performed in Georgian but it was adequately understood by the foreign spectators due to the theatrical means of expression. It was highly evaluated in an article published in the newspaper "Karlsruhe Kurier" (June 16, 2011): "Georgian students presented a play by the Georgian playwright  Rezo Kldiashvili Pilon. Despite the  fact that the performance was in Georgian, the musical and stage arrangement, choreography and original devices of expression helped the spectators to overcome the lingual barrier."

Such assessments indicate to the triumph of Georgian theatre. It is also a clear index that Georgian literature and theatre is not isolated from European context and continues to develop.