Speaker
Description
In 2012 Rezo Gabriadze performed “Ramona”, a new version of his puppet show “The Locomotive”. This is a tragic romantic story about love between to locomotives – Ramona and Ermon. In the performance locomotive Ermon departs and Ramona remains at the station. But in spite of prohibition to leave the station, Ramona agrees to help the circus and not only bring them to the desired place but also agrees to replace a sick trapeze artist, dying cause of a fall. The play shows the Soviet world through the prism of romantic and sentimental but at the same time ironical and even absurd view. The Soviet time is shown at the same time stable )everybody knows what to expect) and mobile (the protagonists are in constant move).
The main protagonist of the show is Ramona. If Ermon is strong, resilient, efficient, Ramona is graceful, tender and helpful, ready for everything for love.
The motive of Ramona’s help is similar to an American story “The Little Engine That Could”. But if the little engine makes something impossible just cause of his optimism and trust in itself, Ramona makes something similar cause of romantic and helpful nature. The little engine is a metaphor of an American dream, but Ramona is a metaphor of everything what was dear and precious in the Soviet world.
Another interesting parallel is between Ramona and the cartoon of the 1967 “The locomotive from Romashkovo”. If we compare them we can see similarity in the idea of animating everything and the the dialogue between locomotives and human beings and in the characters of the protagonists. Both are romantic, sentimental, helpful. The dichotomy children – adults is also seen in “Ramona”: Ermon and the station master are adult and the staff of the circus are children. Ramona makes a way from the protected child to a sacrificial loving woman.
The end of the show is at the same time tragic and full of hopes. After Ramona’s death Ermon destroys itself. But after melting two new locomotives were made. The death of Soviet culture metaphorically shown in the story was tragic for many inhabitants but the new life was giving some hopes to keep the best in a new way.
Biography
Dr. Victoria Legkikh, 2002 graduated from St. Petersburg State University (Slavistic), in 2009 PhD in the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 2009-2010 lector in the Slavic department of University of Salzburg, 2015-2020 researcher at the Institute of Slavic study in Vienna, 2022 researcher at Ludwig Maximilian university, since 2021 teaher at the Technical university of Munich. Main interest are hymnography and orthodox culture, the religious life of emigration, communities.
