Светлые думы

The composition of the play «Bright Thoughts» includes stories that have an artistic and semantic connection between them, so the director and author of the staging Eugene Gelfond united them with one plot.

The play based on Shukshin's texts is an open story of people's lives, which takes place before the audience's eyes. The heroes of the play are simple people, residents of one village. All of them periodically meet in the amateur art circle at rehearsals of the play, which will be staged anyway («A Roof Over Our Head», «The Actor Fyodor Gray»). The action develops around the discussion of a new play that has caused a heated debate. All the scenes of the characters' family life, as separate episodes, are harmoniously woven into this plot: (the stories «Stepkin's Love», «Boots», «My Son-in-law Stole a Car of Firewood»”, «Bright Souls»).

The main line of the play is the thoughts of Matvei Vasilievich, the collective farm chairman («Thoughts»). In his monologues we can hear a light sadness, he is trying to answer the questions that every person asks in the course of life. In the final scene of the play we see («The Master of the Bath and Garden»), the triumph of life, the victory over death and despondency.

Everything on stage will talk about Shukshin's work, through posters of his films, including the unproduced film «Razin's End» based on the novel «I came to give you the will’ about Stepan Razin. Through the characters and fates of his heroes Vasily Shukshin reflects on the «mystery of the Russian soul». Shukshinsky hero does not talk about love, he shuns loud words. A spoken word kills that «guest-minute» that arises between people and does not need explanation. It is this guest that has to do with eternity and love.