Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man
Encyclopedia
Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man is a five-act comedy by Aleksandr Ostrovsky. The play offers a satirical
treatment of bigotry
and charts the rise of a double-dealer who manipulates other people's vanities
. It is Ostrovsky's best-known comedy in the West
.
1868 - Maly Theatre
, Moscow.
1885 - Korsh Theatre, Moscow.
The seminal Russian theatre director Konstantin Stanislavsky directed the play with his Moscow Art Theatre
. The production opened on . Stanislavski played General Krutitsky and Kachalov played Glumov.
A production of the play was the most significant of the early theatre
work of the Russian Soviet film director
Sergei Eisenstein
. The playwright Sergei Tretyakov
transformed Ostrovsky's text into a revue
(what Eisenstein called a "montage of attractions"), which was entitled Wiseman (Mudrets). Eisenstein and Tretyakov's approach was part of the Russian avant-garde
Futurist
movement
known as "Eccentricism," which sought the "circus
isation" of the theatre. In celebration of the centennial of Ostrovsky's birth, the production opened in April 1923. It was staged by the First Workers' Theatre of the Prolekult
in its theatre in an ornate mansion on Vozdvizhenka Street
, with a cast that included Maxim Shtraukh, Ivan Pyryev
, and Grigori Aleksandrov
. Eisenstein drew on popular theatre techniques from farce
and the commedia dell'arte
in his staging, which sought to make every metaphor
concrete and physical
; he wrote:
A screening of Eisenstein's first film, entitled Glumov's Diary, concluded the performance. Writing in 1928, Eisenstein explained that he had aimed "to achieve a revolutionary modernization of Ostrovsky, i.e., a social reevalution of his characters, seeing them as they might appear today."
Boris Nirenburg and A. Remizova directed an adaptation of the play for television in 1971.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
treatment of bigotry
Bigotry
A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs...
and charts the rise of a double-dealer who manipulates other people's vanities
Vanity
In conventional parlance, vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant futility. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic synonym for vanity, but...
. It is Ostrovsky's best-known comedy in the West
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
.
Production history
1868 - Alexandrinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg.1868 - Maly Theatre
Maly theatre
The Maly Theatre, or Mali Theatre, may refer to one of several different theatres:* The Maly Theatre , also known as The State Academic Maly Theatre of Russia, in Moscow...
, Moscow.
1885 - Korsh Theatre, Moscow.
The seminal Russian theatre director Konstantin Stanislavsky directed the play with his Moscow Art Theatre
Moscow Art Theatre
The Moscow Art Theatre is a theatre company in Moscow that the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Constantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright and director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, founded in 1898. It was conceived as a venue for naturalistic theatre, in contrast to the melodramas...
. The production opened on . Stanislavski played General Krutitsky and Kachalov played Glumov.
A production of the play was the most significant of the early theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
work of the Russian Soviet film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
. The playwright Sergei Tretyakov
Sergei Tretyakov
Sergei Mikhailovich Tretyakov was a Russian constructivist writer, playwright and special correspondent for Pravda. He graduated 1916 from the department of law at Moscow University...
transformed Ostrovsky's text into a revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
(what Eisenstein called a "montage of attractions"), which was entitled Wiseman (Mudrets). Eisenstein and Tretyakov's approach was part of the Russian avant-garde
Russian avant-garde
The Russian avant-garde is an umbrella term used to define the large, influential wave of modern art that flourished in Russia approximately 1890 to 1930 - although some place its beginning as early as 1850 and its end as late as 1960...
Futurist
Russian Futurism
Russian Futurism is the term used to denote a group of Russian poets and artists who adopted the principles of Filippo Marinetti's "Manifesto of Futurism"...
movement
Art movement
An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time, or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined within a number of years...
known as "Eccentricism," which sought the "circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
isation" of the theatre. In celebration of the centennial of Ostrovsky's birth, the production opened in April 1923. It was staged by the First Workers' Theatre of the Prolekult
Proletcult Theatre
Proletcult Theatre was the theatrical branch of the Soviet cultural movement Proletcult. It was concerned with the powerful expression of ideological content as political propaganda in the years following the revolution of 1917...
in its theatre in an ornate mansion on Vozdvizhenka Street
Vozdvizhenka Street
Vozdvizhenka Street, , is a radial street connecting Manege Square and Arbat Square in central Arbat District of Moscow, Russia. The street's name refers to a monastery that existed here since 1450 and perished in the Fire of Moscow...
, with a cast that included Maxim Shtraukh, Ivan Pyryev
Ivan Pyryev
Ivan Aleksandrovich Pyryev , served as Director of the Mosfilm studios and was, for a time, the most influential man in the Soviet motion picture industry.Pyryev was born in Kamen-na-Obi, now Altai Krai, Russia...
, and Grigori Aleksandrov
Grigori Aleksandrov
Grigori Vasilyevich Aleksandrov or Alexandrov was a prominent Soviet film director who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1947 and a Hero of Socialist Labor in 1973...
. Eisenstein drew on popular theatre techniques from farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
and the commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...
in his staging, which sought to make every metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
concrete and physical
Physical theatre
Physical theatre is used to describe any mode of performance that pursues storytelling or drama through primarily and secondarily physical and mental means. There are several quite distinct but indistinct traditions of performance which all describe themselves using the term "physical theatre",...
; he wrote:
A screening of Eisenstein's first film, entitled Glumov's Diary, concluded the performance. Writing in 1928, Eisenstein explained that he had aimed "to achieve a revolutionary modernization of Ostrovsky, i.e., a social reevalution of his characters, seeing them as they might appear today."
Boris Nirenburg and A. Remizova directed an adaptation of the play for television in 1971.
Sources
- Banham, Martin, ed. 1998. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. ISBN 0521434378.
- Benedetti, Jean. 1999. Stanislavski: His Life and Art. Revised edition. Original edition published in 1988. London: Methuen. ISBN 0413525201.
- Brockett, Oscar G. and Franklin J. Hildy. 2003. History of the Theatre. Ninth edition, International edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 0205410502.
- Gerould, Daniel. 1974. "Eisenstein's Wiseman." The Drama Review 18.1 (March): 71-85.
- Kleberg, Lars. 1980. Theatre as Action: Soviet Russian Avant-Garde Aesthetics. Trans. Charles Rougle. New Directions in Theatre. London: Macmillan, 1993. ISBN 0333568176.
- Kolocotroni, Vassiliki, Jane Goldman, and Olga Taxidou, eds. 1998. Modernism: An Anthology of Sources and Documents. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0748609733.
- Leach, Robert, and Victor Borovsky, eds. 1999. A History of Russian Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. ISBN 0521432200.
- Magarshack, David. 1950. Stanislavsky: A Life. London and Boston: Faber, 1986. ISBN 0571137911.
- Rudnitsky, Konstantin. 1988. Russian and Soviet Theatre: Tradition and the Avant-Garde. Trans. Roxane Permar. Ed. Lesley Milne. London: Thames and Hudson. Rpt. as Russian and Soviet Theater, 1905-1932. New York: Abrams. ISBN 0500281955.
- Sealey Rahman, Kate. 1999. "Aleksandr Ostrovsky - Dramatist and Director." In Leach and Borovsky (1999, 166-181).