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Abstract: This paper is the first part of a research diptych dealing with the literary and theatrical fate of Bernard Shaw’s early play The Devil’s Disciple (1897) in Russia. It presents a comparative study carried out on the basis of several pre-revolutionary transla- tions of this dramatic piece into Russian. Special attention is paid to I. Danilov and K. Chukovsky’s collaboration (1908), N. Smursky’s remake (1909), and N. Efros’s translation (1910) of Shaw’s drama. The aim of this research is to consider the circum- stances under which different translations and adaptations were created; to highlight the objectives set and the strategies chosen by their authors and to assess the influence of those factors on the perception of Shaw’s drama by Russian audiences. The paper also employs elements of the culturological approach by including various critical reviews of the productions based on the abovemen- tioned translations in theatre periodicals. The stage version produced by P. Gaideburov and N. Skarskaya in their Itinerant Theatre in 1909 and Alexander Tairov’s production of 1910 are given a thorough examination based on the materials of The Russian State Archive of Literature and Art as well as The Central State Archive of Literature and Art. The article highlights the peculiarities of the directors’ and actors’ interpretations of the text, on the one hand, and the critics’ perception of Shaw’s drama, on the other. The author makes a conclusion on how the historical and cultural context affected the editorial and theatrical fate of The Devil’s Disciple in pre-revolutionary Russia and how it set the stage for the further journey of the play in the Soviet Union. This is the first research of its kind both in Russian science and abroad.

About the author(s) :

Yulia A. Skalnaya
Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia)

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6330-6793

Publication Timeline:

Date of receipt: 20.09.2023; date of publication: 31.03.2024

References:

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