The main storyline of the performance is the story of the Dreadnought warships and real men who served on them and died a heroic death during the First World War.
First of all, we will not reproach the author and the only actor of this production with the fact that his entire story is devoted to the exploits of the British and Germans, and practically not a word about Russia. After all, the heroes were on both sides of the front, and this is the author's right.
Grishkovets called this performance female, because, in his opinion, it is in the conditions of war that such qualities of men as courage, patriotism, honor are revealed; and it is useful for women to know what feats real men can perform in extreme conditions. The topic is really interesting and important, but the devil, as they say, is in the details … Watching the plot …
Stop! Naval officers went to certain death and died for their country, fleeing from a sense of shame ??? And did married men spend their last hours getting drunk and sleeping with a prostitute, dreaming that their wives would be faithful to them? What kind of double standards and where did Grishkovets get this?
People who are ready to give their lives for the country and who know what dignity and honor are, will not cheat on their wives and children and betray their families just because tomorrow they may die. Perhaps there were such isolated cases, but this is clearly an exception and deviation from the norm. Why does Grishkovets present this as an example of heroic behavior and heroic death? We look further at the answer to this absurdity …
It turns out that Grishkovets, attributing his weaknesses and vices to the heroes of the First World War, in a similar way justifies his own selfishness and inability to control the instincts that caused the betrayal of his family. Like, “look, dear, I'm cheating on you, but I'm still a real man, and if I get the chance, I will prove it to you, and like those heroes of the First World War I will boldly go to death for my Motherland. Well, until such a case has happened - I just go on business trips, get drunk there and sleep with another stranger.
What led the author to such moral standards? Perhaps the same alcohol and tobacco that appears on the stage for most of the performance and warms up to the next Don Juan feats.
At the same time, judging by the number of E. Grishkovets awards, official critics do not ask themselves what his works teach:
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1999 - Prize "Antibooker" in the category "Three Sisters" (drama) for sketches for the plays "Winter" and "Notes of a Russian Traveler".
2000 - “Golden Mask” in two nominations - “Novation” and “Criticism Prize”.
2000 - National Triumph Prize (incentive grant).
2004 (March 13) - The screening of all Evgeny Grishkovets' solo performances on one day of the Golden Mask festival was included in the Guinness Book of Records.
2004 (September 1) - Roman "Shirt" was recognized as the debut of the year. The book was included in Booker's “long list”.
2006 - Medal "Symbol of Science" in the nomination "Man of Art".
2007 - Russian Brilliant Award in the "Exceptional" category.
2009 - Prize "Silver Ingot" of the radio station "Silver Rain" (selected by Alex Dubas) for the novel "Asphalt".