A.N. Ostrovsky’s Dramaturgy in Slovakia

Abstract

The article examines the history of the acquaintance of Slovak literary culture and theater with the dramatic heritage of the great Russian playwright A.N. Ostrovsky. It tells in detail about the first translations of his plays into Slovak and the first experiences of productions on the professional stage (all of them are associated with the name of director J. Borodach), about the difficulties of translating some of the titles of the plays, and also traces the evolution of the perception of Ostrovsky’s work in Slovakia over the past century. The periods of greatest popularity of his plays are highlighted (1950s, 1970–80s), and an overview of the most significant Slovak theatrical productions based on his works is given. Special attention is paid to several outstanding productions of the drama «The Forest», which appeared on the Slovak theater stages in different historical periods and largely influenced the perception of this Russian author by the Slovak audience: performances of the theater «Divadlo na Korze» (1971, directed by V. Strnisko), Theater SNP in Martin (1982, directed by L. Vaydichka), theater «Astorka Korzo ’90» (1997, directed by R. Polak), Slovak Chamber Theater in Martin (2014, directed by L. Brutovsky, M. Daho), Theater J. Palarika in Trnava (2020, directed by V. Strnisko).