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NIKOLAI ERDMAN: CZECH TRANSLATIONS AND STAGE INTERPRETATIONS // Tomsk State Pedagogical University Bulletin. 2021. Issue 3 (215). P. 155-163

Introduction. This paper aims to present the perception of Nikolai Erdman and his plays in the former Czechoslovakia and the modern Czech Republic. The article primarily focuses on the interpretation of Erdman’s plays in Czech translations and on Czech stages. Materials and methods. The research was based on the study of archival sources, such as programs for theatre productions, recordings of performances, critical responses in periodicals, translators’ diaries and memoirs, as well as post-1989 publications on the small theatre movement, etc. Theatre productions and their reception by the public and professional critics were analysed. The materials were also subjected to translational analysis. Results and discussion. Erdman’s satirical comedy The Suicide has been translated into Czech twice by renowned Czech translators Jan Zábrana (1967) and Alena Morávková (1985). In 1971, The Mandate was staged at the satirical theatre Večerní Brno (Evening Brno), which was the first production of Erdman’s plays in the former Czechoslovakia. The Suicide was staged in 1987. The publication of the Czech translation of The Suicide created by Alena Morávková in 1985 was three years ahead of the Soviet publication of the original play. The paper also reflects significant productions of Erdman’s plays at the E. F. Burian Theatre or Studio Ypsilon. Modern Czech stage productions of The Mandate (last performed in 2009) and, first of all, The Suicide (last performed in 2019) are also reflected in the paper. Conclusion. An analysis of the plays’ translations and stage versions proves that even eighty years after their creation, the satirical works of Nikolai Erdman are still relevant thanks to their deep humanistic and philosophical content that resonates with the modern audience. Both before and after 1989, Erdman’s plays were staged in so-called small (studio) theatres. Even today, the interest to Erdman’s plays arises in small theatres, student companies and amateur theatres. However, the themes that Czech directors emphasize in their contemporary productions are fundamentally different from what was targeted before the Velvet revolution.

Keywords: Nikolai Erdman, Czech translations of plays, Czech productions, Czechoslovak stage productions, studio theatres