Meaning of “Oh, beauty!” comedy by Victor Kok-Oola for Tuvan dramatic art of the 1960s

The article reviews the contribution of the founder of Tuvan drama Viktor Kok-oola to the development of the comedy genre. Created in 1965, the lyrical comedy “Oh, Beauty!” corresponded with the main pathos of the Tuvan plays of the 1930s - to show the life of simple arats in a new reality. The lyrical coloring of the conflict and action, the absence of satirical aspects in the image of the characters, the poetry of the vaudeville intrigue based on kind and sparkling laughter, on the ethnographic details of the life of a Tuvan village in the 1960s - all these became new for Tuvan dramaturgy. The action of the comedy revolves around a journalist falling in love with the image of a beautiful young milkmaid on the cover of a magazine, who is disappointed after it turned out that the photo had been taken in her younger years. Collisions are full of humorous misunderstandings, which emphasize the cross-cutting action of the play, based on a dispute between the heroes of different generations about the true values of life and true love. The idyllic depiction of Soviet reality in the plot of the play is overcome thanks to the people’s laughter culture, which sets off and enriches the realistic depiction of the life of Tuvans.