Поетика пізньої зрілості у виставах Київського академічного Молодого театру
Poetics of Late Adulthood in the Performances of Kyiv Academic Molodyi Theatre

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of the article is to analyze the poetics of old age in the performances of Kyiv Academic Molodyi Theater to consider artistic representations of the elderly in contemporary Ukrainian culture. The methodology of the article are mixed: cultural and historical data processing, close reading technique, comparative approach, synthesis, and generalization. The academic novelty of the article demonstrates the first endeavor in the Ukrainian humanities to study poetical dimensions of late adulthood representations in the performances ―Make Way!‖ and ―The Stalkers‖ in Kyiv Academic Molodyi Theater. The performances are based correspondingly on Viña Delmar‘s screenplay ―Make Way for Tomorrow‖ (1937) and Pavlo Arie‘s drama ―At the beginning and at the end of times‖ (2013). Despite the obvious (national, geographical, chronological) differences of these dramatic works, their common denominator is the tragic grandeur of the elderly characters in spite of intergenerational inhumanity and economic crises. Conclusions. The author argues that the frequency of the representations of the ―third age‖ onstage is generated by the challenges of our times, in particular, by the increased average life expectancy, the awareness of loneliness and worthlessness by the elderly. The author singles out the following poetic components of late adulthood in the performances of Molodyi Theater: the intergenerational conflicts between elderly and younger characters, the strategies of aging and memories of old dramatis personae, the topos of home, the common metaphor of the railway station and metro, tragicomic tonality, minimal constructivism of scenic design and leitmotif use of musical accompaniment.

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