"Welcome or No Trespassing!" by Ilya Nusinov and Semyon Lungin, summary

This play by Ilya Nusinov and Semyon Lungin depicts events at a strict pioneer camp, illustrating the open conflict between the children’s group and the local administration. Written in 1964, the play contrasts children’s spontaneity with the rigid rules of a typical educational institution.

In 1964, the original text was successfully adapted into a film by director Elem Klimov. The film of the same name gained widespread acclaim and attracted a significant audience.

Camp life and the expulsion of the offender

The events unfold on the grounds of a pioneer camp. The institution is run by administrator Dynin, who demands strict adherence to local discipline. The pioneers’ lives are governed by a strict schedule, and deviations are severely punished. The central alleys are decorated with paired plaster statues of buglers and drummers, forming straight rows.

Kostya Inochkin, a pioneer from the third detachment, swims across the river separating the camp from the village. The boy directly violates the commander’s strict orders. At the morning assembly, Dynin publicly reprimands Kostya, accusing him of spreading whooping cough. The commander issues an expulsion order and loudly declares, "I have categorically forbidden you from swimming to the other side and from having any contact with the villagers." The caretaker puts Inochkin in a truck loaded with cans and drives him to the train station.

While waiting for the commuter train, Kostya vividly imagines the consequences of returning home. His grandmother, seeing her grandson expelled, collapses and dies instantly. His fellow pensioners look at him reproachfully, and the champion of old age delivers a sad speech: "For seventy-eight years, no one could put her in the grave, but he did." Fearing this outcome, Inochkin decides to return.

Illegal position under the tribune

Late at night, Kostya sneaks back into the camp’s guarded territory. The bright statues of the pioneers appear to him in the darkness as dangerous, hostile figures. Inochkin finds a safe haven — a dark space under the wooden podium where the leader is taking reports.

Soon, the secret of Kostya’s hiding place is revealed. His presence is accidentally discovered by Nelya Poleshko and Dima Stabovoy, who attempted to smoke out the unknown animal with a hot wire. Then, his loyal comrades in the squad — Venya, Stasik Nikitin, Marat, and Sharafutdinov — learn about the nighttime fugitive. The boys take it upon themselves to provide their friend with hot food every day. In the cafeteria, they divide their cutlets in half, hide the meat in a surprise box, and pass it on to Inochkin. Kostya reads the books he brought and practices new card tricks.

Nettle epidemic

Parents’ Day is fast approaching. Inochkina’s grandmother will come to visit her grandson, find his bed empty, and disaster will become inevitable. The boys come up with a radical plan to save themselves: feign illness so doctors can quarantine the camp.

The conspirators deliberately head for a ravine about two meters deep, overgrown with tall nettles. Overcoming their natural fear, they strip naked and plunge into the stinging green bushes. Marat hesitates for a long time, so his comrades force him down. The cunning Stasik Nikitin successfully avoids being burned by skillfully feigning illness without using direct physical force.

Covered in red blisters, the Pioneers collapse dramatically on the sandy alley. Medical staff carry them to the isolation ward on stretchers. In a bright ward, the boys act out a feverish delirium, loudly shouting poetry. Dynin appears and quickly uncovers the deception, ripping the blanket off the trembling Sharafutdinov and accusing the boys of brazenly faking it. The Pioneers instantly recover and hastily leave the isolation ward.

A lock on the door and an escaped pig

The girls from the squad also learn of Inochkin’s hiding place. Lera, Nelya, and the niece of the official Mitrofanov secretly crawl under the stands to play cards. The vigilant Dynin opens the low door, catches the offenders playing, lectures them, and takes the tattered deck. The boss doesn’t notice Kostya, and the caretaker hangs a heavy padlock on the stand door. Inochkin is securely locked in.

The comrades attempt to free the prisoner using unconventional engineering solutions — they decide to dig a tunnel under the wall. The children enlist the help of some village boys they know and a live pig, hoping the animal will quickly dig the necessary hole. The plan turns out to be a complete failure. The pig refuses to dig in dry earth, falls asleep comfortably in its hole, and then runs away from its pursuers, squealing.

Dynin sternly orders Marat to draw a vicious caricature of Inochkin for the wall newspaper. Marat is forced to obey his superior’s direct order. His comrades rightly consider the artist a traitor, reprimand him with insulting jabs, and despise him for his display of weakness.

Parents’ Day and Masquerade Parade

The long-awaited Parents’ Day arrives. The vast camp grounds quickly fill with numerous relatives of the pioneers. Grandma Inochkina wanders alone among the noisy groups, persistently trying to find her missing grandson. The adults have cheerful picnics on the grass, play badminton, and listen to music.

The culmination of the celebration is a costumed carnival parade. Dynin, dressed in a ceremonial black suit, solemnly gives commands from the main stand. To the sounds of an orchestra, children in costumes march in formation along the smooth avenue. Spectators see a cardboard rocket with astronauts, brightly colored planets of the solar system, the Gray Wolf, and the Pea Pod.

The festive procession is marred by an unexpected circumstance. Dynin notices with alarm that the "Queen of the Fields" costume prepared for Mitrofanova is empty. Not long before, Marat had chased someone through the camp, causing the fleeing figure to fall into a deep, muddy puddle. The parade halts in disarray before the silent orchestra, at the belated command of the leader.