Like the learned bears, dolls were once part of the buffoon's repertoire. Folk puppeteers leading a wandering lifestyle performed their funny performances wherever people gathered. In the 19th century, the main character of Russian folk puppet theater throughout the country became Petrushka (Petr Ivanovich Uksusov, aka Vanka Ratatouille). A dense crowd of spectators invariably gathered around this character.

The most common was the traveling theater of Petrushka: a puppeteer with his assistant musician and the necessary equipment (a folding screen, a set of dolls, musical instruments) moved from fair to fair, earning their bread and travel. Another type of this entertainment was represented by city organ grinders, who walked mainly only along the streets of their city and its environs. In addition, a puppet show with Petrushka was often performed in booths as one of the numbers in a mixed program.

The puppeteers usually mastered their skills so well that the audience was given the illusion that Petrushka was really a living person and not a doll. In general, Petrushka managed to gain truly popular love, but the reasons for the popularity of this character are very different: from the “uncomplicatedness” of the scenes with his participation to their satirical, topical component.

The content of the performances with Petrushka varied depending on the place and time of their holding, but there were scenes and techniques common to all performances, since the comedy about Petrushka was usually passed on from performer to performer only orally. The Petrushka Theater in the mid-19th century included mandatory scenes (the main part of the comedy), and a number of minor ones, the number, content and order of which were determined by the puppeteer himself at his own discretion, depending on his capabilities, talent, local tradition and so on. The main scenes with Petrushka were: Petrushka's exit, the scene with the bride, buying a horse, Petrushka's treatment, training him to serve as a soldier, and the finale. The appearance of Parsley usually began with his unexpected appearance from behind the screen. Petrushka's outfit consisted of a red shirt, corduroy pants tucked into boots and a red cap. The special features of his appearance were his hump and a long nose.

Jumping out in front of the audience, Petrushka introduced himself (“I am Petrushka, Petrushka, a cheerful little boy! I drink wine without measure, I am always cheerful and sing...”). Before starting the performance itself, this character would conduct lively conversations with the audience on any topic; sometimes, in order to create the appearance of a casual conversation, the puppeteers hired special “pushes” who from the crowd carried on a free conversation with parsley. Next began Petrushkin's adventures, which started with his intention to get married. His doll bride appeared, in whose face various character traits of his time, for example, city morals and manners, a village girl’s ignorance of city fashion, and a guy flaunting his metropolitan habits.

After the story of the marriage, there usually came a scene where our hero buys a horse, which turned out to be not at all as good as the gypsy seller described it. A restive horse throws off Petrushka and hits him with its hoof, he begins to moan loudly and call for a doctor, and then one of the constant heroes of Petrushka’s comedy appears - the doctor, who can say to himself: “People are led to me on their feet, and from me they are driven on road " This is followed by a funny, public-favorite episode of searching for a sore spot and an altercation between Petrushka and the doctor, as a result of which he demonstrates to the “pharmacist” exactly where the horse hit him.

Almost any performance with the participation of Petrushka included scenes of training in the “soldier’s articulation”, during which he comically carried out drill commands and gun techniques. A comical effect was also achieved when the hero supposedly did not hear the commands given to him well (for example, to the corporal’s command “Hold it straight!”, he asked again: “What is it? Matryona Petrovna?”). Well, at the very end of the performance, according to tradition, Petrushka falls into the “underworld,” that is, some character (the devil, a dog, a ram) drags him down behind the screen, but only then for our hero to “resurrect” again at the beginning of the next performance .

At the same time, the degree of social acuteness of the Petrushka Comedy varied depending on the place and time of the performance; for this purpose, a skilled puppeteer could, during the performance, sharpen some aspects of the performance and smooth out others. For example, if the comedy was staged for a single company, then Petrushkin’s jokes became more obscene and the plot concerned mainly his relationship with his bride; if the performance was performed in front of peasants or the urban poor, then the scene of Petrushka’s interrogation and reprisal of the policeman became very relevant. In this way, Petrushka could express popular protest, but the puppeteer did not always have such an opportunity, and some scenes waited in the wings in front of a narrow circle of spectators.

The Petrushka Theater could not exist without good musician, which performed three main functions: accompanied the action by playing a musical instrument; temporarily participated in the puppet show, talking with Petrushka; acted as an intermediary between the public and the dolls.

Puppet comedy with the participation of comic characters has its roots in Italy and France, and the performances of foreign puppeteers influenced the Petrushka Theater, but in Russia Petrushka became a people's favorite, incorporating Russian folklore features.

Performances with the participation of Petrushka were always perceived as a holiday and gathered people around them. a large number of people, but by the beginning of the 20th century this entertainment gradually faded away and Petrushka ceased to be the main character of the fair, he was replaced by others folk entertainment. Only after 1917 was Petrushka briefly able to gain fame.

(The article was prepared based on materials from: A. Nekrylova “Russian folk city festivals, entertainment and spectacles. The end of the 18th - beginning of the 20th century”)

In the illustration “Petrushka”, 1882. Leonid Ivanovich Solomatkin (1837-1883)

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The Russians knew three types of puppet theater: the puppet theater (in which the puppets were controlled using threads), the Petrushka theater with glove puppets(the dolls were put on the fingers of the puppeteer) and the nativity scene (in which the dolls were fixedly fixed on rods and moved along slots in the boxes). Puppet theater did not become widespread. The Parsley Theater was popular. The nativity scene was distributed mainly in Siberia and southern Russia.

The Petrushka Theater is a Russian folk puppet comedy. Its main character was Petrushka, after whom the theater was named. This hero was also called Pyotr Ivanovich Uksusov, Pyotr Petrovich Samovarov, in the south - Vanya, Vanka, Vanka Retatouille, Ratatouille, Rutyutyu (tradition of the northern regions of Ukraine). The Parsley Theater arose under the influence of the Italian puppet theater Pulcinella, with which the Italians often performed in St. Petersburg and other cities.

An early sketch of the Petrushka Theater dates back to the 30s. XVII century This illustration was placed by the German traveler Adam Olearius in the description of his trip to Muscovy. Regarding the drawing, D. A. Rovinsky wrote: “... A man, having tied a woman’s skirt with a hoop at the hem to his belt, raised it up - this skirt covers him above his head, he can move in it freely, move his hands, display dolls on top and present entire comedies.<...>In the picture, on a portable skirt stage, it is not difficult to discern the classic comedy about how the gypsy sold Petrushka a horse." Rovinsky cited Olearius' remark that the puppet comedian was always with the bear leader; he also corrected the "positions" of the goat and the clown. The skits, according to Olearius, were always of the most modest content.

Later, the raised women's skirt with a hoop at the hem was replaced by a screen - at least in descriptions of the Petrushka Theater in the 19th century. the skirt is no longer mentioned.

In the 19th century The Petrushka Theater was the most popular and widespread type of puppet theater in Russia. It consisted of a light folding screen, a box with several dolls (according to the number of characters - usually from 7 to 20), a barrel organ and small props (sticks or batons, rattles, rolling pins, etc.). The Parsley Theater did not know the scenery.

The puppeteer, accompanied by a musician, usually an organ grinder, walked from courtyard to courtyard and gave traditional performances about Petrushka. He could always be seen during folk festivals and fairs.

About the structure of the Petrushka Theater D. A. Rovinsky wrote: “The doll has no body, but only a simple skirt, to which an empty cardboard head is sewn on top, and on the sides there are hands, also empty. The puppeteer sticks it into the doll’s head forefinger, and in the hands - the first and third fingers; He usually puts a doll on each hand and thus acts with two dolls at once.”

Character traits appearance Parsley - a large hooked nose, a laughing mouth, a protruding chin, a hump or two humps (on the back and on the chest). The clothes consisted of a red shirt, a cap with a tassel, and smart boots on his feet; or from a clownish two-color clown outfit, collar and cap with bells. The puppeteer spoke for Petrushka with the help of a squeak - a device thanks to which the voice became sharp, shrill, and rattling. (The pischik was made of two curved bone or silver plates, inside of which a narrow strip of linen ribbon was fastened). For the rest characters The comedy puppeteer spoke in his natural voice, moving the squeak behind his cheek.

The performance of the Petrushka Theater consisted of a set of skits that had a satirical orientation. M. Gorky spoke about Petrushka as an invincible hero of a puppet comedy who defeats everyone and everything: the police, the priests, even the devil and death, while he himself remains immortal.

The image of Parsley is the personification of festive freedom, emancipation, and a joyful feeling of life. Petrushka's actions and words were opposed to accepted standards of behavior and morality. Parsley's improvisations were topical: they contained sharp attacks against local merchants, landowners, and authorities. The performance was accompanied by musical inserts, sometimes parodic: for example, an image of a funeral under “Kamarinskaya” (see in the Reader “Petrushka, aka Vanka Ratatouille”).

Zueva T.V., Kirdan B.P. Russian folklore - M., 2002

Introduction

No one in the world has established, or will ever establish, the exact year of birth of the theater. No one in the whole world has said, and no one will say, on which piece of the calendar its original date should be indicated.

The lifetime of the theater is measured by a measure unprecedented in historical terms - the lifetime of the human race itself.

The day of the emergence of the theater is hidden behind the mountain range of long-gone centuries and millennia, in the depths of the most ancient, most distant era of human history. That era when the man who first took tools into his hands primitive labor, became human.

Introducing himself to work brought him poetic insight; man began to discover within himself a poet, the aesthetic ability of poetic perception of the world.

In those distant centuries, the newly emerging poetry did not have powerful wings; it had not yet been touched by the powerful breath of free flight. Until a certain time, until a certain time, its purpose was reduced only to the subordinate accompaniment of rites and rituals that were established in the life of the primitive community. And when the time had come for her to mature, to become an independent poetic existence, poetry broke free, breaking the shackles of its former inseparability from everyday life. And then the time came for the fate of poetry to converge with the fate of the theater.

In the golden age of humanity's childhood, the first poets of the earth were the great Greek tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, like good geniuses poetry bent over the cradle of the theater. They called him to life, turned him to serving people, glorifying the spiritual power of man, his indomitable strength, the moral energy of heroism. Over the millennia that have passed since then, the name of one of the first heroes of the theater has not yet faded. He was Prometheus of Aeschylus - a rebellious fighter against God, condemned by Zeus to eternal torment for serving people, for getting fire for them, teaching them crafts and sciences. Chained to a rock forever, he proudly praised the freedom and dignity of man:

Know well that I would not trade

Your sorrows into servile service,

I'd rather be chained to a rock

What better way to be than to be a servant of Zeus.

Marx called the hero of Aeschylus’s tragedy “Prometheus Bound” the most noble saint and martyr in the philosophical calendar... Together with Aeschylus, his younger contemporary, Sophocles, equally passionately glorified man: “There are many wondrous forces in nature, but stronger than man no." Behind them, his mighty predecessors, rose Euripides - the most tragic poet of the ancient world. And, perhaps, the most fearless. Renouncing the given mythological plots, he forged the real characters of people living with intense passions, feelings, thoughts, experiences.

Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides laid, according to history, a great beginning of a great work. Eternal cause! Century after century - at all times, in all eras lived by countless human generations, theater has invariably, inextricably accompanied the movement of human history.

Whatever changes took place on earth - era followed era, one

socio-economic formation replaced another, states, countries, empires, monarchies arose and disappeared, Atlantis disappeared in the depths of the ocean, the angry Vesuvius flooded unfortunate Pompeii with hot lava, for many centuries the sands brought Troy, glorified by Homer, to the Hissarlik hill, but nothing ever interrupted the eternal existence of the theater.

The most ancient creation of man, to this day retains an unchanged attractive force, indestructible vitality, that miraculous

the elixir of youth, the secret of which was never discovered by the alchemists of the Middle Ages. In all previous eras, no matter how many of them there are, there has always been an eternal need for theater in man. That need that once arose at the ancient Dionysian festivals of the Rhea grape in honor of the mythical deity of earthly fertility

People have always needed theater!

Tens of thousands of spectators - almost the entire population of cities - traveled to theatrical performances in Ancient Greece. To this day, majestic amphitheaters, dilapidated by time, built in times infinitely distant from us, serve as reminders of this.

How the fate of the theater has changed in the past! He experienced and survived everything until he found his permanent home - the theater building. His performances were given everywhere - in squares and fairs, on church porches, in the castle of a noble feudal lord, in a monastery monastery, in a gilded palace hall, in an inn, on the estate of a noble serf owner, in a church school, at a village festival.

Anything happened in his fate... He was cursed, hated, banned, subjected to persecution and mockery, punishment and persecution, excommunicated from the church, threatened with whips and gallows, all heavenly and earthly punishments.

No trials, no troubles and adversities have broken the eternal vitality of the theater.

The school of life is the oldest, most amazing and emotional, the most festive, inspiring, great school like no other - that’s what theater is.

“Theater is a school of life,” - this is what they said about him from century to century. They spoke everywhere in Russia, France, Italy, England, Germany, Spain...

Gogol called the theater the department of goodness.

Herzen recognized him as the highest authority for resolving vital issues.

Belinsky saw the whole world, the whole universe with all its diversity and splendor in the theater. He saw in him an autocratic ruler of feelings, capable of shaking all the strings of the soul, awakening strong motion in minds and hearts, to refresh the soul with powerful impressions. He saw in the theater some kind of invincible, fantastic charm for society.

According to Voltaire, nothing tightens the bonds of friendship more closely than the theater.

The great German playwright Friedrich Schiller argued that “the theater has the most well-trodden road to the mind and heart of man.”

The immortal creator of Don Quixote, Cervantes, called the theater “a mirror of human life, an example of morals, a model of truth.”

A person turns to the theater as a reflection of his conscience, his soul. He recognizes himself, his time and his life in the theater. The theater opens up amazing opportunities for spiritual and moral self-knowledge.

And even though theater, by its aesthetic nature, is a conventional art, like other arts, what appears on stage before the viewer is not real reality itself, but only its artistic reflection. But there is so much truth in that reflection that it is perceived in all its unconditionality, as the most authentic, true life. The viewer recognizes the ultimate reality of the existence of stage characters. The great Goethe exclaimed: “What could be greater nature than the people of Shakespeare!”

Isn’t this where the miraculous spiritual, emotional energy of the theater is hidden?

the unique originality of its impact on our souls.

And in the theater, in a lively community of people gathered for a stage performance, everything is possible: laughter and tears, grief and joy, undisguised indignation and wild delight, sadness and happiness, irony and mistrust, contempt and sympathy, guarded silence and loud approval, in a word, all the riches of emotional manifestations and shocks of the human soul.

A good performance remains in the theatrical repertoire for a long time, but every time, with each new meeting with the audience, it arises anew, is born anew.

And no matter how much time passed after that between the stage and auditorium the wonderful fire of the relationship between soul and thought will flare up again. And the intensity of this emotional, spiritual exchange will certainly affect both the actor’s performance and the entire atmosphere of the auditorium.

Parsley Theater Parsley Theater Sergei Obrazal's Theater puppet theaters

PETRUSHKA, “the nickname of a farcical doll, a Russian jester, a jokester, a wit in a red caftan and a red cap; The whole clownish, puppet den is also called Petrushka” (V. Dahl).

When and in what country did the Parsley Theater appear? Whose hands created the world's first doll? No one knows and cannot know this, because all peoples of the world had dolls a thousand and ten thousand years ago.

Dolls were made from clay, wood, straw or rags. And the children played in them: put them to bed, treated them, hunted clay or wooden deer, elephants, hippopotamuses. And this is also a theater. Puppet. Because the actors in it are dolls.

Adults in ancient times made figurines to represent gods. Gods have different nations there were many. The god of the sun, the god of water, the god of war, the god of hunting, even the god of cockcrow. These gods were made of wood, sculpted from clay or carved out of leather into flat figures and displayed on a stretched canvas under the light of an oil lamp. And still in many countries, especially in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, such ideas exist. It's half worship, half puppet show.

Gradually, fairy tales, fables, and various funny and sometimes sharply satirical scenes began to be played out with dolls more and more often. There are four main types of driving puppets: on fingers, on strings, on sticks and shadow figures.

The main character of the skits in Russia was Petrushka. Petrushka was a finger puppet. Such dolls are still played in many theaters around the world. An actor with a puppet on his fingers stands behind a screen, raising his hand. The doll is visible above the screen.

The first mention of puppet theater in Russia dates back to 1609. One of the first dolls was Petrushka. His full name Pyotr Petrovich Uksusov. I saw Parsley for the first time in Russia German writer, traveler and diplomat Adam Olearius. This was almost 400 years ago!

The funny thing about this hero was that when he went on the “stage,” he immediately began to beat everyone with a stick, and at the end of the performance, death came out and took Petrushka off the stage by his long nose. Petrushka had brothers all over the world. So, in Hungary there was the Knight Laszlo. He was distinguished by the fact that he beat everyone not with a stick, like Parsley, but with a frying pan.

But let's return to Russia. In 1730, the newspaper “St. Petersburg Vedomosti” first published an article about the puppet theater, the author of which gave the best definition of a puppet theater that is capable of “showing the nature of things.”

Many descriptions of these street performances have been preserved. IN late XIX centuries, parsley makers were usually paired with organ grinders. From morning until late evening, puppeteers walked from place to place, repeating the story of Petrushka's adventures many times a day - it was not long, and the entire performance lasted 20-30 minutes. The actor carried a folding screen and a bundle or chest with dolls on his shoulder, and the musician carried a heavy, up to thirty kilograms, barrel organ.

The set and order of scenes varied slightly, but the basic core of the comedy remained unchanged. Petrushka greeted the audience, introduced himself and started a conversation with the musician. The organ grinder from time to time became Petrushka's partner: entering into a conversation with him, he either admonished him, then warned him of danger, or suggested what to do. These dialogues were conditioned and very important reason of a technical nature: because of the squeaker, Petrushka’s speech was not always intelligible enough, and the organ grinder, conducting a dialogue, repeated Petrushka’s phrases, thus helping the audience understand the meaning of his words.

S. V. Obraztsov in his book “On the Steps of Memory” recalls how he saw Petrushka’s performance as a child: “The one that squeaked appeared above the screen. Petrushka. I see him for the first time in my life. Funny. Incomprehensible. A big nose crochet, big surprised eyes, stretched mouth. A red cap, on the back there is some kind of deliberate hump, not a hump, and wooden arms that are flat, like shoulder blades. Very funny. He appeared and sang in the same inhuman squeaky voice."

With the advent of the 20th century, “The Comedy about Petrushka” begins to quickly collapse. There were more than enough reasons for this. First of all, this was facilitated by the extremely strict control of the authorities, which reached the point of direct persecution and bans. The guardians of order and morality were irritated by the seditious content of some scenes, the rudeness and cynicism of expressions, and the immorality of the hero’s behavior. Petrushka's situation worsened even more when the first World War. Famine and devastation engulfed Russia; the people had no time for entertainment, and Petrushka catastrophically quickly lost its viewers.

And in order to earn a living, puppeteers are increasingly beginning to perform their comedy in front of “well-bred” children’s audiences. They are invited to children's parties, New Year trees; in the summer they go to the dachas. Naturally, under such conditions, the text and action of many scenes inevitably changed. Petrushka was becoming almost a good boy.

Parsley could not stand such violence. Having lost the main traits of his character, having lost his main partners, having lost the urgency of situations, he withered away and soon became of no use to anyone. They tried to revive it in propaganda performances of the first post-revolutionary years, then in educational performances for children. But his “data” did not correspond to the spirit and character of these performances, and he had to be replaced with other heroes. Parsley's story ended here.

In pre-revolutionary Russia there was a home theater, which can be compared to a bridge connecting traditional folk performances with the new modern theater. The history of Russian home puppet shows apparently begins in late XVIII- early 19th centuries. In the 19th century, animated dolls did not lose their universal popularity, but they were increasingly classified as children's entertainment. In educated circles, it was customary to invite a puppeteer to children's parties, and sometimes to give puppet shows on their own.

In the pre-revolutionary home puppet theater, three types of performances can be distinguished. They appeared, apparently, not at the same time, but they all survived until the October Revolution.

The first type is a children's puppet show, performed with almost no adult participation. The attitude of adults is encouraging, but passive; their main role is that of spectators. This is a performance-game, a performance in which the child is given complete freedom. You can read about such performances from K. S. Stanislavsky.

The second type is a puppet show for children, performed by adults. The role of adults becomes more active. The initiative passes into their hands. The home puppet stage is used for education and training purposes; The performance takes on a pedagogical orientation. Children and adults change places: children increasingly become spectators, adults become performers and authors of plays.

The third type is a performance by adults for adults. In the home theater, aesthetic concepts are embodied and developed, the best examples of literature and drama are staged, and political and social topics begin to be addressed. Home theater attracts the attention of the artistic intelligentsia and becomes the center of theatrical experimentation. His work takes on a semi-professional, studio character.

European puppeteers are rushing to take advantage of the new hobby of the Russians and are opening “puppet theaters for children” in Russia. Puppet theater is firmly integrated into home education. Brochures with “children’s” versions of “Petrushka” are printed, “Guides on how to build small theater and everything related to the action of the figures,” dramatizations of fairy tales are published with explanations of how to stage them on the puppet stage. Russian manufacturers are establishing the production of domestic dolls for home theater use, tabletop cardboard theaters with sets of figures and scenery for various plays.

At the beginning of the 20th century, home puppet theater “matured” even more. His repertoire increasingly goes beyond the scope of children's educational tasks; more and more often he touches on topics that concern adults.

The ongoing “maturation” of the public and performers of the home puppet theater can be explained not only by the need to respond to political and social events, to express their attitude towards them, but also by a whole complex of other reasons.

Among them, one of the main places is occupied by the flaring interest in folklore, in particular in the folk puppet theater. The intelligentsia goes to watch a performance by a folk puppeteer in a booth. His art increasingly evokes surprise and admiration.

The history of this doll goes back to the beginning of the 17th century. Although she has many prototypes in the folk theaters of Italy, France, Germany, and Turkey. The Parsley Theater enjoyed enormous popularity, first among ordinary people, and then among the more affluent segments of the population.

History of the theater

The Petrushka People's Theater is one of the oldest in Russia. It is precisely established that it existed back in the very early XVII centuries in Rus'. Confirmation of this fact can be found in the Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, where the fresco depicts a puppeteer raising the curtain.

This is also evidenced by the entries in the travel diary of the scientist, diplomat and traveler Adam Olearius (Elschläger), which was republished several times. He was in Russia twice: in 1633-1634 - as secretary of the German embassy, ​​in 1635-1639 - as a scientific researcher.

Olearius described in detail the puppet theater of Petrushka, supplementing his story with an illustration, later made by an engraver at the request of the author. Character and type puppet shows, which was portrayed by Adam Olearius, suggests that these performances were the prototype of the Petrushka Theater of the 19th century.

Description of the theater

The Parsley Theater was a screen that consisted of frames fastened with special staples, covered with fabric, most often chintz. This structure was attached around the puppeteer's body. After it was raised above the head, a kind of stage was formed on which the performances took place.

In the performance of the Petrushka puppet theater in the 17th century, a guslar or a whistle-player participated, who maintained dialogues with the puppet and with the audience. The musician invited the audience to the performance and collected payment at the end.

In Rus', only a man could be the puppeteer of Petrushka. When he “drove” the doll and voiced it, the actor inserted a whistle (squeaker) into his larynx. This made the character's voice ringing and loud, which was necessary at fair performances where a large number of people were present. At the same time, because of the squeak, speech was not always intelligible; in such cases, an accompanist came to the rescue and explained everything to the viewer.

The history of the doll

Parsley is a glove puppet that the puppeteer places on his hand and controls it with his fingers. This character is dressed in a red shirt, canvas pants and a pointed cap with a tassel at the end. In V. I. Dahl’s dictionary, Petrushka is positioned as a farcical doll, a jokester, a Russian jester, a wit in a red caftan and cap.

His appearance is not at all Slavic, although he was the main character of the Russian folk theater Parsley. The doll has greatly enlarged arms and a head, which were carved from wood treated with a special compound to darken it.

Parsley has hypertrophied facial features, huge almond-shaped eyes with eyeballs white and a black iris. A large, long nose with a hump and a wide-open mouth, which some take for a smile, but in fact it is an evil grin. Petrushka got his appearance from the doll of Pulcinella, an Italian comedy character.

Origin of the name

How this doll got the name Parsley is not known for certain. There is a version that the famous comedic character was named after his namesake, Pietro Mirro (Pedrillo or Petrucha-Farnos). This was the court jester of the Russian Tsarina Anna Ioannovna. This version is confirmed by texts and popular prints (amusing sheets) identical to the plots of the Parsley Theater.

There is also a hypothesis that Petrushka received his name from famous puppeteer actors who lived in early XVIII century, these are Pyotr Ivanov and Pyotr Yakubovsky. It is quite possible that the doll was named after one of these amusements, whose performances were most popular at that time.

It is believed that Petrushka was named because of the similarity of his profile and ringing, noisy voice with a rooster. This version is supported by the fact that in Russia roosters are called Petya, Petrusha.

The puppet character got his name in the “Petrine Age,” when Emperor Peter I, according to one expression, signed his rescripts not with a pen, but with a club, and in his free time he drank and fooled around under the name of Petrushka Mikhailov in “the most drunken cathedrals.”

Performance scripts

There were several scenarios in the Parsley Theater. The main plots are buying a horse and riding it, learning to be a soldier, preparing a wedding, a scene with a gendarme or a policeman, with a dog or death. Almost every scene showed a fight between Petrushka and another character, in which he invariably won.

Usually the performance began with Petrushka wanting to buy a horse, and the accompanist calling for a gypsy salesman. Main character examines the horse for a long time, and then begins a long bargaining with the gypsy, as a result of which he beats the latter on the back with a stick for attempting to deceive.

After this, Petrushka gets on the horse, but she throws him off and runs away. He remains lying on the ground, waiting for the doctor, who appears later. There is also a conflict with the doctor, and it all ends in a fight with a club. Later there is a skirmish with a gendarme or a policeman, in which Petrushka also defeats them with a stick. And it all ended with his meeting with a dog or with death, after which he died.

Popularity of the heroes of the Parsley Theater

All the characters participating in the performance changed periodically. The only constant was Petrushka, who was also called Pyotr Petrovich Samovarov, Vanka Ratatouille or Pyotr Ivanovich Ukusov. The comedy with his participation was very popular and widespread in Russia. Love common people to the main character of the speeches was explained in different ways. Some argued that the reason was the topicality of the satire, while others spoke of the accessibility, simplicity and understandability of the speeches.

In the monthly magazine “A Writer's Diary” in 1876, F. M. Dostoevsky wrote a story on the theme of the Petrushka puppet theater. In it, he describes the performance that took place in the St. Petersburg house of artists. Fathers and their children stood in a crowd and watched the always popular comedy, and in fact this performance was the most fun of the whole holiday. The author asks questions: why do you feel so funny because of Parsley, so happy when you look at him? Why is everyone happy - both old people and children?

Relatives of Parsley

Some historians believe that Petrushka has so-called relatives in the theatrical puppet world of other countries. This is, for example, Pulcinella - a character considered the ancestor of Parsley, since he appeared in the 16th century. In France, this is Polichinelle - the hero of the folk theater, a hunchback, a cheerful bully and a mocker. In England, this is Punch, who is described as a hunchback with a pointed, hook-shaped nose and wearing a cap. He is a rogue, a fighter, a merry fellow and a reveler.

In Turkey, the prototype of the Parsley Theater was a shadow theater, the main character of which was a doll named Karagöz (in Turkish - black-eyed). He also had a cheerful, cocky personality. People's dissatisfaction with the existing government was often expressed in performance scenes.

In Germany, Parsley's brother was the Kaschperle (Casper) doll, who also participated in comic performances at fairs and festivities. By nature, Kasper was a simple, cheerful joker who joked about topical topics.

Petrushka Theater in the 19th century

After a while, this character ceased to exist only as a street performer. Puppeteers and accompanists are increasingly being invited to the houses of gentlemen, where the scenes in which Petrushka participates lose their sharpness and topicality. He stops killing and beating his stage partners, and only scolds and drives them away.

At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries, changes took place in the theater. Musical instruments such as the harp and whistle are being replaced by the violin and organ-organ. The latter is especially widespread. In fact, she was the first mechanical musical instrument and was liked by the public. It did not require special playing skills and therefore gradually replaced the harp, violin and buzzer.

Also in the 19th century, the structure of the screen itself changed; now it consists of two poles on which coarse fabric is stretched, most often dyed, with Blue colour. Because of this design, the puppeteer showed his performance.

From wit to hero of children's parties

Petrushka's speech changes from common folk to more acceptable for manor houses, and the “parsley man” is no longer a street actor, but a salon actor. The stage itself is decorated with beautiful lush draperies, and those participating in the performance dress in satin clothes with shiny tinsel, which makes the performance ceremonial and solemn.

Parsley turns from an evil wit with obscene jokes into a kindly, cheerful character at children's parties and matinees. Moreover, after some time he is reborn from a glove puppet into a puppet, like his foreign relatives Pulcinella, Polichinelle, Punch and Karagöz. More and more often you can see the performance of Petrushka the puppet, and not the glove puppet.

Parsley in the twentieth century

IN Soviet time appears new character- Comrade Petrushka, at the same time he leaves the stage and turns into the hero of stories and literary plays. Now the old Petrushka Theater in which much was permissible does not exist. Frivolity is lost in the 20th century storyline, the events unfolding in the plays and stories are aimed at promoting hygiene, literacy and recycling.

All that remains of the original Petrushka is his tendency to accuse. He points out, identifies and condemns drunkards and slackers, and explains to readers the elementary standards of decency and decent behavior in society.

The doll's appearance also undergoes a transformation. Thus, the red shirt in which Petrushka was previously dressed turns into a tunic or blouse, and instead of a pointed cap, a cap, budenovka or cap appears on his head. Even his long nose with a hump shortens and initially becomes snub-nosed, and later becomes completely ordinary.

Parsley in modern times

The history of the Parsley Theater is now being studied by scientists and theater experts. And today this character has not outlived its usefulness. For example, Petrushka became the hero of the ballet of the same name, which is often identified with the peculiar emblem of the Russians. ballet seasons.

He was a real key figure for the work of the composer I. F. Stravinsky, who wrote wonderful music for the ballet, for the founder of the classical Russian ballet school M. M. Fokin, who created this production, as well as for the dancer V. Nijinsky, who performed the main roles in this ballet.

Petrushka remained in the image of an irreconcilable fighter against injustice and negative characteristics person. Making fun of all this, he tries to change it for the better.

IN folk art was also known puppet theater: marionette theater(in it the dolls were controlled using threads), Petrushka Theater with glove puppets (the puppets were put on the puppeteer’s fingers) and nativity scene(in it, the dolls were fixedly fixed on rods and moved along slots in the boxes).

The Parsley Theater was especially beloved by the people. In the 19th century, the Petrushka Theater was the most popular and widespread type of puppet theater in Russia. It consisted of a light folding screen, a box with several dolls (the number of characters usually ranges from 7 to 20), a barrel organ and small props (sticks or batons, rattles, rolling pins, etc.). The Parsley Theater did not know the scenery. The puppeteer, accompanied by a musician, usually an organ grinder, walked from courtyard to courtyard and gave traditional performances of Petrushka. He could always be seen during folk festivals and fairs. The main character was Petrushka, after whom the theater was named. This hero was also called Pyotr Ivanovich Uksusov, Pyotr Petrovich Samovarov, etc. It arose under the influence of the Italian puppet theater Pulcinello, with which Italians often performed in St. Petersburg and other cities.

Separate satirical scenes were presented at the Petrushka Theater. A.M. Gorky noted that “the invincible puppet hero defeated everyone and everything: priests, police, the devil and death. He himself remained immortal.” 1

This is how D.A. described it. Rovinsky's performance at the Petrushka Theater, which he witnessed:

“This comedy is played in Moscow, near Novinsky. [...] Its content is very simple: first Petrushka appears, lies all sorts of nonsense in verses, burring and nasal in his nose - the conversation is conducted through a typewriter placed to the roof of his mouth, above the tongue, just like that the same as it is done among the French and Italians. The Gypsy appears, offers Petrushka a horse. Petrushka examines it, and receives kicks from the horse, first in the nose, then in the belly; the whole comedy is filled with bucks and kicks, they constitute the most essential and most ridiculous part for spectators. There is a bargain, - the Gypsy speaks without a typewriter, in a bass voice. After a long haggling, Petrushka buys a horse; the Gypsy leaves. Petrushka sits on his purchase; the purchase hits him front and back, throws off Petrushka and runs away, leaving him on the stage dead. A plaintive howl follows. Parsley and lamentations for a premature death good fellow. The Doctor comes:

Where does it hurt?

Here!

And here?

It turns out that everything in Parsley hurts. But when the Doctor reaches a tender spot, Petrushka jumps up and hits him on the ear; The Doctor fights back, a fight begins, a stick appears from somewhere, with which Parsley finally calms the Doctor.

What kind of Doctor are you,” Parsley shouts to him, “if you ask where it hurts?” What did you study for? You should know where it hurts!

A few more minutes - Kvartalny, or, in puppet terms, “fatal officer” appears. Since there is a dead body on the stage, Petrushka is subjected to a strict interrogation (in treble):

Why did you kill the Doctor?

Answer (in the nose):

Because he doesn’t know his science well - he looks at what he’s wearing, doesn’t see it, and even asks him.

Word for word, it’s clear that Petrushka doesn’t like Fatalny’s interrogation. He seizes the old stick, and a fight ensues, which ends in the destruction and expulsion of Fatal, to the general delight of the spectators; This puppet protest against the police usually creates a real sensation among the public.

The play, it would seem, is over; but what to do with Parsley? And then a wooden poodle dog runs onto the stage, pasted over its tail and legs with scraps of whipped cotton wool, and begins to bark with all its might (the barking is made from husky at the bottom).

Little darling,” Petrushka caresses her, “let’s come live with me, I’ll feed you cat meat.”

But Shavochka, for no apparent reason, grabs Petrushka by the nose; Parsley to the side, she takes his hand, he takes it to the other, she grabs his nose again; Finally, Petrushka takes to a shameful flight. That's where the comedy ends. If there are a lot of spectators and Petrushkin’s matchmaker, i.e. the main comedian is given vodka, then after that a special interlude called Parsley's wedding. There is no plot in it, but there is a lot of action. Petrushka is brought his bride Varushka; he examines her like a horse. Petrushka liked Varyushka very much, and he can’t bear to wait for the wedding, which is why he begins to beg her: “Sacrifice yourself, Varyushka!” Then it happens final scene, in which the fair sex cannot be present. This is already the real and “very last end” of the performance; then Petrushka goes to the outside stage of the booth to lie all sorts of nonsense and invite the audience to a new performance.

In the intervals between the actions of the play, dances of two Arapok are usually presented, sometimes a whole interlude about a Lady who was bitten by a snake (Eve?); here, finally, two Pagliacci are shown playing with balls and a stick. The latter comes out extremely cleverly and funny by experienced puppeteers: the doll has no body, but only a fake simple skirt, to which an empty cardboard head is sewn on top, and arms, also empty, on the sides. The puppeteer sticks the index finger into the doll's head, and the first and third fingers into the hands; He usually puts a doll on each hand and thus acts with two dolls at once. During puppet comedy there is always a barrel organ, replacing the old classic bagpipes, harp and whistle; At the same time, the organ grinder serves as a “prompter,” i.e. enters into conversations with Petrushka, asks him questions and urges him to continue his lies without stopping." 2