A joyful phenomenon in theater criticism

Many more works are appearing in the field of literary criticism. At least that is the case in our country. The battlefield of literary criticism is also much livelier. If we look into the past, we will see that it has a far richer heritage compared to our theater criticism. The scientific and aesthetic level of literary criticism in our country is also higher. If we open the pages of our press, we will find that review work was the main manifestation of theater criticism. Aesthetic issues were quite often neglected because of sociological findings about the theme and images in the play and superficial, artisanal or amateur assessments: "Some people faithfully convey their image, but others do not play well." That is why the appearance of the book - a collection of articles - Drama and Stage" by Professor Lyubomir Tenev is a welcome phenomenon. Indeed, it is already a manifestation, and one of the rare ones, in the actual field of theatrical aesthetics. The main distinction that gives aesthetic maturity and purposefulness to the articles in this collection is Tenev's aspiration and ability to proceed from the specifics of art as an independent human activity, to respect dramaturgy and theater as "creation according to the laws of beauty" (Marx). The skill of criticism is expressed in the "feeling", the perception and understanding of the aesthetic phenomenon as an indivisible, organically interdependent unity of ideological content and means of expression - as opposed to their mechanistic comparison and opposition in illustrative analysis. In the author's aesthetic analysis, "form is essential", i.e. It is sought in the very nature of the artistic reflection and reproduction of reality. This is a difficult but correct path in Marxist aesthetics, because it is consistent with the specific, complex dialectical process of creativity. It is the antithesis of both vulgarizing and simplistic criticism, as well as aesthetic criticism. By following this path, L. Tene convincingly proves to us that the problem of conflict is still open to all drama, that a significant conflict is not created only with marked images and with the opposition of social forces if it does not pass through man, if it does not encompass his ideas, thoughts, feelings and actions. Therefore, we find his verdict on the production "When Thunder Strikes, How the Echo Fades" fair, since the director K. Iliev has supported the external presentation of the text, the search for abstract psychology and eternal truths. Borrowing means of theatrical expression from another theater or elements of one solution for the stage solution of another play, completely different in character and style, is not at all a sign of innovation. "When everything is done not for the whole, but for the individual, in such cases we get a demonstration of the means of expression without internal connection and organic conditioning, and