A summary of "A Game of Imagination" by Emil Braginsky

The play, written in 1979, is a lyrical comedy about the absurdity of family crises and attempts to find happiness through fantasy. The text is distinguished by an abundance of subtle dialogue and a gentle irony about Soviet life. Pavel Antoshin suddenly learns that his wife has left him for a younger lover. The abandoned husband is immediately offered a replacement: his wife’s lonely friend.

The work was adapted for the screen by director Mikhail Ptashuk in 1995. The leading roles in the film of the same name were played by Igor Kostolevsky, Lyubov Polishchuk, and Irina Selezneva.

Antoshin’s return

Pavel Antoshin returns to his Moscow apartment from a long business trip. He is greeted by his twenty-year-old daughter, Zhenya. She and her boyfriend, Yuri, are standing in a strange position — standing on one leg. Yuri calls it a way to relieve physical irritation. The student soon leaves.

Zhenya breaks some devastating news to her father. Rita Sergeyevna, Pavel’s wife, left the family five days ago. The new man’s name is Lampasov. He’s thirty-four years old and drives an orange Zhiguli. Antoshin has a hard time processing what he’s heard.

Rita Sergeyevna bursts into the apartment. She talks nonstop, unloads the food she brought, and tries to justify herself. Rita Sergeyevna tells the story of how she met Lampasov. They met on the escalator at the Dynamo metro station. His ex-wife brings along her thirty-year-old friend, Larisa. Rita Sergeyevna literally forces Larisa on Pavel to save him from the crushing loneliness. Rita forces her friend to show off her skirt and her makeup-free face.

Antoshin yells at the women, calling what’s happening savage and delusional. Pavel mockingly demands that Larisa fill out a detailed questionnaire and bring a doctor’s note. Insulted, Larisa quickly runs away. Rita Sergeyevna leaves too.

Second meeting

A couple of weeks pass. Antoshin returns home from work. Larisa is sitting on a chair in the dark room, holding a briefcase containing a fake medical certificate. Larisa has come to apologize for her recent shameful matchmaking. She admits she humiliated herself out of despair. Her best friend, Yulia, has gotten married. Larisa feels deeply abandoned.

Pavel works as a specialist in the tobacco industry. Larisa and Pavel begin a casual conversation. Antoshin mentions an upcoming business trip to the ancient city of Vladimir. Larisa promises to arrive there on Tuesday. She describes her outfit in detail: a blue coat, a blue beret, and a colorful scarf. Larisa plans to wait for Pavel near the Golden Gate. Antoshin flatly refuses to attend the meeting.

That evening, Lampasov shows up at the apartment uninvited. He brings a large laundry basket filled with fresh vegetables. Lampasov teaches in the Department of Moral and Ethical Relations. He wants to establish a civilized and cordial relationship with his girlfriend’s ex-husband. Antoshin shoos the intruder away.

A failed date and an empty aquarium

Another week passes. Yuri is teaching Zhenya and Pavel the art of disconnecting from reality. They sit on the floor and listen to music. Yuri works at a research institute, but he’s constantly sent to state farms to build cowsheds.

Antoshin tells his daughter frankly about his trip to Vladimir. He admits he couldn’t resist going to the Golden Gate. Pavel froze in the wind for a long time, but the promised colorful scarf never appeared.

Soon, Rita Sergeyevna drops in. Out of habit, she asks Pavel to write her speech. Rita Sergeyevna claims that Larisa traveled with Pavel to Vladimir and even shared a hotel room with him. Rita is outraged by this behavior. Then Lampasov calls sharply, and Rita Sergeyevna hurries away.

Larisa appears wearing a blue beret. She sees Antoshin on the floor. Larisa confidently claims she waited a long time for him in Vladimir. She describes the museum and the wedding cars. Antoshin catches her in a blatant lie. Larisa admits she didn’t go anywhere. She learned the details from a friend, a tour guide. The woman apologizes for the deception. Larisa had a major scandal at work due to an erroneous magazine article, and she couldn’t leave.

Antoshin treats Larisa to some Rostov-made "Nasha Marka" cigarettes. They smoke with their eyes closed. A spark of attraction flits between them.

A month later. Zhenya persuades his father to call Larisa. Pavel dials the number. Larisa answers — she’s just returned from a trip to Finland.

Yuri brings an empty aquarium with a light into the apartment. He suggests using it for imaginative play. Yuri sees a predatory moray eel in the void, Zhenya sees canned sprats for ninety-two kopecks, and Antoshin sees a delicious smoked salmon.

Date at the housing office

Larisa arrives. Zhenya and Yuri tactfully head to the cinema. Pavel puts on a Schubert record. He invites Larisa to an old peasant dance, the Ländler. Antoshin waves an imaginary hat with a feather and loudly clicks his heels.

Larisa abruptly turns off the music. She tells the story of a colleague from the editorial office who is raising a child alone. Larisa is outraged by the term "single mother." Pavel begins to understand the hidden meaning of her emotional story. They sit together by the glowing aquarium. Larisa quotes Blok’s poem about the enchanted shore.

The idyll is shattered by Rita Sergeyevna, and then by Lampasov. Lampasov again brings a huge basket, this time with a bottle of champagne. He insists on Rita and Pavel’s official divorce. Lampasov had specifically traveled to Sweden to study the immorality of others. Antoshin and Larisa flee the overcrowded apartment.

They stroll for a long time through the bustling streets. Then the couple descends into the basement of a multi-story building. The building management office is located there. Larisa’s friend hides the key in the meter, allowing them to gain entry easily. Antoshin brings dried gingerbread cookies, a piece of feta cheese, and a bottle of Listopad from a closing grocery store. From under his jacket, Pavel takes out a bouquet of flowers he bought on the corner.

Larisa confesses that she’s raising her son, Sasha. The boy’s father gave her twenty-five rubles for his birthday and asked for a fiver in change. Larisa has cut him out of her life forever. Pavel hugs and kisses Larisa. The romance is interrupted by loud knocks on the door — the residents of the building are arguing over the boiling water in the faucet.

Rita Sergeyevna enters the basement. She announces that Zhenya has decided to live openly with Yuri. Antoshin is furious with his daughter and hurries away. Larisa cries alone. She feels unwanted and says, "I’m a rough little pig."

Return and tickets

Twenty days pass. Zhenya forces her father to stand on one leg and drape the other over the back of a chair. The girl announces that she’s moving in with Yuri in a new neighborhood. Zhenya considers marriage without a probationary period to be legalized cohabitation. Antoshin approves of this bold experiment.

Left alone, Pavel rushes to the phone. He calls Larisa and declares his love. Larisa doesn’t believe his words. She thinks Pavel is calling out of boredom and hangs up. Antoshin turns on the music and cheerfully dances to rock and roll.

Rita Sergeyevna trudges into the apartment, carrying enormous suitcases and bundles. She’s wearing the sling dress Pavel gave her. Lampasov left Rita for a young graduate student. Rita Sergeyevna tearfully apologizes to Antoshin. She’s ready to become his faithful wife again.

Soon, a joyful Lampasov appears with another basket. He pours live, colorful fish into the empty aquarium. Lampasov wants to maintain warm relations with everyone. Antoshin harshly dismisses him forever.

Larisa appears in the doorway, wearing a blue beret. Rita Sergeyevna loudly protests their exchange of glances, but Pavel and Larisa ignore their ex-wife. Larisa admits she bought two real train tickets. She suggests Pavel go to Vladimir immediately. The train departs in an hour. The curtain falls.