Zamknięcie w języku. Oblężenie Jewgienija Griszkowca

Abstract

The author of this article analyzes the play The Siege by Evgeny Grishkovets, a renowned contemporary Russian writer. She places it against a background of the rest of his works, exposing essential features that characterize his entire dramaturgy, such as the presence of metatheatrical devices, recognition of the importance of contact with the audience, and emphasis on stage performance. The analysis also draws attention to such elements of the play as non-homogeneous spatio-temoral framework, hybrid composition of characters, and parallel development of plot threads. Special attention is paid to the “imprisoning” of characters in discourses and the ambivalent nature of cultural symbols. As the author points out, the Siege stands out in the Grishkovets’s oeuvre, both by departing from the dominant monodrama form and by juxtaposing key themes recurring in his works: the human experience of war, the reflection on the nature of time, the collapse of language referential abilities, and the impossibility of authentic communication