April 11, 2008
Aleksi Vachadze
Georgia Today

Theater on Atoneli continues serving up interesting performances, and “The Power of Minister” is not exception.

This story by Fernando Giovanini is about a small Italian family with great financial problems, where the father, a strict person of high morals, is a world famous scientist working as a simple government clerk.

His pay is small, and he experiences great problems at home because of this low income. His daughter is stubborn and pressures him into giving her some cash so she can spend time in nightclubs and look good among her snobby “friends” while wearing fancy dresses and driving a nice car. The father, despite his negative attitude towards such behavior, is forced to pay for her joy. Meanwhile his wife tries to get some gifts from surrounding people and promises to land them government jobs through her husband’s connections.

The overall situation drives the husband out of the family. “I was born in a small family and I was the only son of my parents. They were crazy about me and I was living like a little prince, but now I am treated like a dog. My daughter, wife and mother-in-law look at me as if I were indebted to them. God! Where am I?” the head of the family cries out.

He refuses to help her wife’s acquaintances look for government jobs. The wife retorts: “Show me just one honest politician and I will shut up for good. You stupid man, don’t you see how much I degraded because of our family problems, because our financial condition doesn’t let us look fashionable, and without that we are nothing in this life.” She forces him to take his first bribe for a small job. Now the husband is facing a dilemma. As he sees green dollars in the hands of their family friend, he opens a little box and allows the friend to put the money inside. “I feel like a thief on his first deal,” he says and closes his eyes.

Taking bribes is only hard initially. “Yeah! This is the power of minister,” he says as his flat becomes lovelier day by day.

His thinking of poor people changes: he forgets his past and becomes icily cold towards those below him. “Let these people work hard and get some cash for bread. It is not necessary that all the people in our country have golden houses.” Soon his partner comes to his office and assures him of the incredible power that he gains day to day among the citizens.

All of this though turns out to be a great big lie – and to add insult to injury, the partner manages to bed his charming wife.

“This terrible money! This paper drives all people crazy. Money gives its owners power and this attracts everyone like a magnet,” he cries out as he learns of other conspiring against him.

One day, his daughter announces that she is pregnant. “Amazing! We can use your condition for our PR, glorious weddings, beautiful husband and your future motherhood. People adore future mothers in our country and we will get rid of this heavy political situation,” decides the father – but the fact that the daughter can’t remember who the father of her son is crushes their hopes once again.

Unwilling to lose his newfound power, the protagonist starts to look for ways to retain it. But the blackmail campaign he puts up against his opponents is too little, too late. His partner tries to betray him; people rush inside his home and grab everything of value; his daughter once again leaves him in his study; his wife flees with his partner. The lone “minister” feels how helpless he is in this huge world.

“Hello! I am a minister; would you like to kill me as soon as possible please?! Thanks! I am waiting for you!” he shouts before the curtains fall. All alone, he is waiting for death in his precious study.

You can see this remarkable performance at the Theater on Atoneli. The address is 31 G. Atoneli St.; the phone – 93 32 38.