NIKOLAI ERDMAN: CZECH TRANSLATIONS AND STAGE INTERPRETATIONS
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2021-3-155-163
Introduction. This paper aims to present the perception of Nikolai Erdman and his plays in the former Czechoslovakia and the modern Czech Republic. The article primarily focuses on the interpretation of Erdman’s plays in Czech translations and on Czech stages. Materials and methods. The research was based on the study of archival sources, such as programs for theatre productions, recordings of performances, critical responses in periodicals, translators’ diaries and memoirs, as well as post-1989 publications on the small theatre movement, etc. Theatre productions and their reception by the public and professional critics were analysed. The materials were also subjected to translational analysis. Results and discussion. Erdman’s satirical comedy The Suicide has been translated into Czech twice by renowned Czech translators Jan Zábrana (1967) and Alena Morávková (1985). In 1971, The Mandate was staged at the satirical theatre Večerní Brno (Evening Brno), which was the first production of Erdman’s plays in the former Czechoslovakia. The Suicide was staged in 1987. The publication of the Czech translation of The Suicide created by Alena Morávková in 1985 was three years ahead of the Soviet publication of the original play. The paper also reflects significant productions of Erdman’s plays at the E. F. Burian Theatre or Studio Ypsilon. Modern Czech stage productions of The Mandate (last performed in 2009) and, first of all, The Suicide (last performed in 2019) are also reflected in the paper. Conclusion. An analysis of the plays’ translations and stage versions proves that even eighty years after their creation, the satirical works of Nikolai Erdman are still relevant thanks to their deep humanistic and philosophical content that resonates with the modern audience. Both before and after 1989, Erdman’s plays were staged in so-called small (studio) theatres. Even today, the interest to Erdman’s plays arises in small theatres, student companies and amateur theatres. However, the themes that Czech directors emphasize in their contemporary productions are fundamentally different from what was targeted before the Velvet revolution.
Keywords: Nikolai Erdman, Czech translations of plays, Czech productions, Czechoslovak stage productions, studio theatres
References:
1. Celý život [The Whole Life] / Zábrana, J., ed., Karpatský, D., ed. a Šulc, J., ed. [Part] 1, Výbor z deníků 29. dubna 1948 – 5. listopadu 1976 [The Selection from Newspapers 29.04.1948 – 5.11.1976]. Praha, Torst Publ., 1992. 518 p. (in Czech).
2. Morávková, Alena. Slovo překladatelky [Translator’s Foreword]. Erdman, Nikolaj. Sebevrah [program k divadelní inscenaci]. [The Suicide [program for a theatrical production]] Prague City Theatres, Rokoko Theatre. 16.6.2012. Arts and Theatre Institute – Theatre Institute, Collection of Theatre Productions, no. K 30 113 P (ID=40367) (in Czech).
3. Kolařík. Nikolaj Erdman: Mandát – Večerní Brno [The Mandate – Evening Brno]. Arts and Theatre Institute – Theatre Institute, Collection of Theatre Productions, no. K 5401 P (ID=30297). (in Czech).
4. Dějiny české literatury 1945–1989 [The History of Czech Literature 1945–1989]. Eds. P. Janoušek, P. Čornej. Praha, Academia Publ., 2007–2008. Vol. 3 (in Czech).
5. Morávková, A. Avantgardní ruská a ukrajinská groteskní dramatika [Avant-garde Russian and Ukrainian grotesque drama]. Česká slavistika 1993: české přednášky pro XI. mezinárodní sjezd slavistů [Czech Slavonic Studies 1993: Czech Lectures for the XI. International Congress of Slavists]. Bratislava 30.8–8.9.1993. Praha, Euroslavica Publ., 1993 (in Czech).
6. Erdman N. Mandát aneb Z čeho budeme živi, maminko? [program k divadelní inscenaci] [The Mandate or What will we live on, Mom? [program for a theatrical production]] / Satirické divadlo Večerní Brno [Satirical theatre Evening Brno] 24. 6. 1971. Arts and Theatre Institute – Theatre Institute, Collection of Theatre Productions, no. K 5 401 P (ID=30297) (in Czech).
7. Mandát – Večerní Brno [The Mandate – Evening Brno]. Arts and Theatre Institute – Theatre Institute, Collection of Theatre Productions, no. K 5401 P (ID=30297) (in Czech).
8. Strnad J. Satirické divadlo Večerní Brno. Nikolaj Erdman: Sebevrah. Z první řady [Satirical Theater Evening Brno. Nikolai Erdman: The Suicide. From the front row]. Časopis Květy. Praha, 14.1.1988 (in Czech).
9. Matějů P. Škoda Sebevraha [Poor Suicide]. Mladá fronta, 26.8.1988 (in Czech).
10. Čech, V. Z brněnských divadelních scén. Erdmanův Sebevrah [From Brno’s theatrical scenes. The Suicide by Erdman]. Práce, venkov, 19.11.1987 (in Czech).
11. Suchomelová J. Šedesátiletá novinka [A sixty-year-old novelty]. Zemědělské noviny. Praha, 27.12.1987 (in Czech).
12. Hořínek Z. Mistr dvou komedií. Divadlo E. F. Buriana, Praha [A master of two comedies. The E. F. Burian Theatre, Prague]. Nikolaj Erdman, Mandát, 1987 (in Czech).
13. Hořínek Z. Návrat Nikolaje Erdmana [The comeback of Nikolai Erdman]. Arts and Theatre Institute – Theatre Institute, Collection of Theatre Productions, no. 11772 (in Czech).
14. Pospíšil J. Z první řady [From the front row]. Květy: časopis věnovaný poučné zábavě i záležitostem národním [Flowers: the journal devoted to educational entertainment and national issues]. Hálek, V., ed. Praha, 24. 12. 1987 (in Czech).
15. Richter J. Smích objevuje špínu [Laughter reveals dirt]. Večerní Praha, 17.11.1987 (in Czech).
16. Signál: ilustrovaný týdeník [Signal: illustrated weekly]. Praha, Vydavatelství časopisu MNO, 2.11.1988 (in Czech).
17. Harvát M. Trnavské divadlo bolo v 70. rokoch síce aj pre deti, ale stalo sa miestom slobody a tajnej reči, spomína Nvota [The Trnava Theater was for children in the 1970s, however, it became a place of freedom and secret speech, Nvota recalls]. Denník N. (in Slovak). URL: https://dennikn.sk/1748235/trnavske-divadlo-bolo-v-70-rokoch-sice-aj-pre-deti-ale-stalo-sa-miestom-slobody-atajnej-reci-spomina-nvota/ (accessed 10 November 2020).
18. Erdman N. Samoubiytsa [The Suicide]. Yekaterinburg, U-Faktoriya Publ., 2000 (in Russian). URL: http://lib.ru/PXESY/ERDMAN/samoubijca.txt (accessed 10 November 2020).
19. Erdman N. Sebevrah (teatral’naya postanovka) [The Suicide (theatre production)]. Director Jan Schmid. Recording of a performance from Studio Ypsilon DJW in Prague, 1989. Czechoslovak television Prague. Video library of the Information and Documentation Department. Arts and Theatre Institute – Theatre Institute (in Czech).
20. Vojta M. Sebevrahova touha po životě [The Suicide’s desire for life]. Tvorba, list pro kritiku a umění, 1989, no. 4 (in Czech).
21. Legenda Studio Ypsilon. Výzvy a střety (5/9) (epizod dokumental’nogo seriala) [A legend of Studio Ypsilon. Challenges and conflicts (an episode of a documentary series)]. Director Aleš Kisil. Aired on 25. 11. 2016 at ČTart. Czech television (in Czech). URL: https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/11085387839-legenda-studio-ypsilon/215542152160005-vyzvy-a-strety (accessed 10 November 2020).
22. Chuchma J. Všichni by rádi smrt (ale ne svoji) [Everyone would love death (but not their own)]. Mladý svět, 21.2.1988 (in Czech).
23. Případ sebevrah. Dobový document [The case of The Suicide. A documentary of the period] Eds. J. Etlík, J. Schmid, J. Czech. Čtení o Ypsilonce: prvních třicet let: především léta 1988–1993, portréty tvůrců a jiné [Reading about Studio Ypsilon: the first thirty years: particularly the years 1988–1993, portraits of creators and others]. Praha, Direkta Publ., 1993. 143 p. (in Czech).
24. MDP hrají o situaci současného člověka [CTPs stage the situation of a modern man]. Za oponou [Behind the curtain]. I-Divadlo.cz. 8.6.2012 (in Czech). URL: https://www.i-divadlo.cz/za-oponou/mdp-hraji-o-situaci-soucasneho-cloveka (accessed 10 November 2020).
( 443.66 kB ) 
( 433.45 kB )
Issue: 3, 2021
Series of issue: Issue 3
Rubric: LITERARY STUDIES
Pages: 155 — 163
Downloads: 546