Theatrical Theories and Influences

Abstract

There was no professional theatre in Russia before the 1750s. By contrast, the first professional theatre in England had been established in 1576. But just as there had been dramatic activity of both secular and religious kinds before this date in England, so there was in Russia. This activity went back to ceremonies associated with the seasonal cycles, sowing and harvesting, with fertility rituals and wedding ceremonies, as well as actual performances associated with specific church holidays. There was also the tradition of the wandering minstrel, or skomorokh, who combined the singing of songs and playing of instruments with clowning and horseplay. As in mediaeval Europe, church rituals and drama were often closely linked. A play of The Burning Fiery Furnace, borrowed from the Greek Orthodox Church, is recorded as having been performed in Novgorod in the mid-sixteenth century.