Plays by the 18th-century German tragedian Friedrich Schiller have become increasingly popular in Moscow, with one theater after another putting on productions of some of the better-known works. The most recent is "The Robbers," which Alexei Govorukho is directing for the Pushkin Theater.

Schiller was a dramatist who tried to incorporate the philosopher Immanuel Kant's understanding of natural beauty into the structure of his tragedies. His writings put him in a transitional period between the decline of classical German art and the first flowerings of Romanticism. The overriding theme in "The Robbers" is liberty and dignity for all, and the skill of his rhetoric, through its vigor and power to inspire audiences with such lofty ideals, has rarely been surpassed in literature.

The play tells the story of two brothers driven to extremes. One son plots to kill his father using emotional weapons and attempts to steal his brother's fiancee. The other forms a robber band that roams the forests. The play's hero, the robber Karl van Moor (Alexander Peskov), admirable for his generosity and seriousness, addresses the eternal questions: love, betrayal and retribution. In opposition to him is his evil brother, Franz (Andrei Sokolov), who dominates the castle, the symbol of repressive political power.

Director Govorukho does not attempt a modernization of the play. Instead he tries to recreate a picture of the Middle Ages, the period in which it is set. At times it is a strategy that seems naive and, at others, simply absurd and without basis.

Of course, it is pleasant to watch actors who feel they don't have to fetter their temperament and who can instead submerge themselves in a tumult of passions, even if it occasionally creates the impression of having become a little bit too much. However, the production still has not settled down in terms of quality – after watching it one is not left with a feeling of integrity. But these are merely technical nuances. The production does at least develop the main ideas that are inherent in the work.

The next performances are on Oct. 13, 19.

PUSHKIN THEATER
23 Tverskoi Blvd.
Metro: Pushkinskaya.
Tel: 203-8582.