The Russian Folk Play ‘Tsar Maximillian’: An Examination of Some Possible Origins and Sources

Abstract

THE Russian folk-theatre which remained operative until the first quarter of the twentieth century presents both the folklorist and the theatrical historian with a varied and rewarding subject for research. Nevertheless, its repertoire, compared with those of other folk-literature genres, is small and loses much of its original impact when seen only upon the printed page. It is partly for this reason that it has been so little studied both by Russian and, particularly, by West European scholars. There are other reasons for this relative neglect of the folktheatre, however. Historical factors produced an artificial break in the development of spontaneous drama in Russia. Indeed, the history of the folk-theatre in Russia may be roughly divided into two phases. There was, firstly, the period ranging from the earliest beginnings to the end of the reign of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich. This was characterised on one side by the development of dramatic games and scenes from earlier rituals and maskings of partly paganistic origin, and on the other by the activities of the skomorokhi, Russia's first professional wandering players, who participated in and encouraged both these and other types of entertainment. The general trend of this period was a slow movement towards a more secular concept of theatre but with ritual as its foundation and starting point; it was, of necessity, basically rural in character. The latter half of this period was characterised by increasing conservatism and antagonism in the attitude of the official church towards folk-entertainment in all its manifestations, culminating in Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich's notorious Ukaz of 1648 prohibiting all forms of public entertainment. The folk-theatre closely connected as it was even then with lingering pagan beliefs and rites was particularly vulnerable to such attacks throughout its history.