Nikolai Evreinov facts for kids
Nikolai Nikolayevich Evreinov (Russian: Николай Николаевич Евреинов; born February 13, 1879 – died September 7, 1953) was a famous Russian director, dramatist (playwright), and theatre practitioner. He was known for his unique ideas about theatre, often linked to a style called Russian Symbolism.
Life and Early Theatre
Nikolai Evreinov was born to a French mother and a Russian engineer. He loved theatre from a very young age. He wrote his first play when he was only 7 years old! Six years later, he even performed as a clown in a traveling circus.
He went to school in Pskov and then studied law in Saint Petersburg. While there, he put on his first full play, The Rehearsal. He also staged an opéra bouffe (a light, funny opera) called The Power of Charms in 1899.
After finishing school in 1901, Evreinov studied music for a few years. He worked on bringing back old plays from the Middle Ages and the Spanish Golden Age. He did this at the Starinny Theatre (meaning "Old-Fashioned Theatre") in Saint Petersburg.
A famous Russian actress, Vera Komissarzhevskaya, wanted to work with him. She asked him to direct her in his play Francesca da Rimini in 1908. Later that year, his production of Oscar Wilde's play Salomé was stopped by the emperor, Nicholas II. Evreinov continued to work with the Komissarzhevsky family. He created "The Merry Theatre for Aged Children," where he staged special plays. He also developed an idea called monodrama, which meant a play focused on one character's inner world. His play The Theater of the Soul (1915) showed this idea.
In 1910, Evreinov left his job at the Ministry of Railways. He became the main producer, playwright, and composer for the False Mirror Theatre in Saint Petersburg. There, he put on over one hundred plays. Fourteen of these plays were written by him! His production of The Government Inspector was very important in Russian theatre history. Each act of the play made fun of different theatre styles. These included realistic plays, the Moscow Art Theatre, and even silent slapstick comedy films.
In the early 1920s, Evreinov visited Berlin and Paris. His plays were produced by famous directors there. He spent the rest of his life in Paris. He worked with the Opéra Russe and the Sorbonne. He also wrote a detailed book about the History of Russian Theatre.
The Storming of the Winter Palace
In 1920, Evreinov created a huge outdoor show called The Storming of the Winter Palace. This show re-created a very important event from the October Revolution. It was staged on the third anniversary of that event.
This type of big show used many performers and a large space. It was performed on November 7th in front of one hundred thousand people! The show began by showing the February Revolution. Then, it showed workers getting organized on a red stage. On a white stage, Kerensky and the provisional government were shown.
The workers were lit up by bright searchlights. They shouted "Lenin, Lenin!" and charged over an arch connecting the two stages. They battled the "Whites" (the government forces). Kerensky tried to escape in a car. Trucks full of the Red Guard chased him to the Palace. Silhouettes (shadows) struggled in the Palace windows. Finally, the Red Army won, and red lights flashed. A cannon fired from the battleship Aurora and fireworks celebrated the victory.
Evreinov's Ideas About Theatre
Evreinov believed that theatre was everywhere around us. He thought that theatre's job was to copy and imitate nature. He pointed out that nature itself is full of theatrical actions. For example, desert flowers can look like stones. A mouse might pretend to be dead to escape a cat. Birds perform complicated dances. He saw theatre as a way to understand all of existence.
His most famous essay is Apology for Theatricality, published in 1908. In this essay, Evreinov shared his main idea:
- "To make a theatre of life is the duty of every artist. ... the stage must not borrow so much from life as life borrows from the stage."
He wanted to make theatre exciting again, and through it, life itself. He believed this could happen by rediscovering how theatre began: through play. He was inspired by thinkers like Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. Like another director, Meyerhold, Evreinov was interested in symbolism and the commedia dell'arte. This old Italian theatre style used masks and encouraged actors to be spontaneous. Evreinov wrote more about his theatre ideas in books like An Introduction to Monodrama (1909) and The Theatre as Such (1912).
His plays include the monodramas The Presentation of Love (1910) and In the Stage-Wings of the Soul (1911). He also wrote the tragi-farce (a mix of tragedy and comedy) A Merry Death (1908). His play The Chief Thing (1921) was very successful internationally. It was performed on stage and made into a movie in France. It was also staged on Broadway in New York City in 1926. This play is seen as a great example of Evreinov's theatre ideas. It features Harlequin, a famous character from commedia dell'arte, who challenges death and changes lives. His play Ship of the Righteous was also very popular in Poland.
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 | Linda Carol Brown |
