Stanislavski versus Evreinov: on stage realism and theatricality

Abstract

ABSTRACT The theatrical Avant-Garde at the beginning of the 20th century in Russian culture produced many practitioners and theories which changed the theatre industry and influenced the development of world theatre for generations. Among them, Stanislavski’s Method of Physical Actions and Active Analysis are widely used, while Evreinov’s unique Monodrama still remains relatively unknown. This paper examines the differences and similarities between Evreinov and Stanislavski and specifically their approach to Scenic (Stage) Realism, the understanding of Theatricality, and instigation of modern theatre and performance practices of the 21st century. Evreinov’s theatrical career was overshadowed by his countryman, Konstantin Stanislavski as a result of social changes in Russia at that time. Evreinov’s hostility towards realism was well known. Evreinov particularly enjoyed criticizing Stanislavski’s detailed direction for Chekhov plays. In New Theatrical Inventions, Evreinov engages in polemics against contemporary theatre practitioners, attacking the naturalism of Stanislavski’s staging. In general, professional theatre for Evreinov was a prison to Theatricality, which in his opinion is the cornerstone of Scenic Art. For Stanislavski, Theatricality was exaggeration when juxtaposed with what should be the realistic truth of the stage. Nikolai Evreinov claimed through his theoretical work that life is full of theatrical conventions; that theatre is a universal symbol of existence, an organic urge to transformation, as basic as hunger or sex. Referring to this urge as Theatricality, or the Instinct of Transformation, Evreinov brought the theatre into life, and insisted that life borrows from theatre.