Alexander Ostrovsky’s Plays
SPbU Representative Office in Spain invites you to an online lecture "Alexander Ostrovsky’s Plays", dedicated to the work of the playwright whose works have been performed on stages across the globe and adapted by renowned filmmakers. The lecture will be presented by Nina Scherbak, a candidate of philological sciences.
Last year marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Ostrovsky, the illustrious playwright and pioneer of the modern Russian theatre. It was Ostrovsky who, through his innovative approach to theatre, brought the common people in their everyday concerns to the stage, imbuing each line of dialogue with meaning, and transforming the audience into accidental observers of the unfolding drama.
Most of Ostrovsky’s plays are set in Zamoskvorechye, a district on the southern bank of the Moscow River, known for its merchant atmosphere. Ostrovsky was born here on 12 April 1823. His father envisioned for him a comfortable career in the judiciary, but Alexander was reluctant to fulfil his father’s wishes and grew enamoured with the theatre instead.
His debut play, It’s a Family Affair — We’ll Settle It Ourselves published in 1850, was a great success with readers but ruffled the feathers of the landed gentry, who took umbrage at the portrayal of the Russian merchant class in a less than favourable light. Despite the backlash, which even included criticism from Emperor Nicholas I, the controversy soon faded. Ostrovsky’s subsequent plays were successfully staged at the Alexandrinsky, and later at the Mariinsky Theatre.
Ostrovsky was one of the first to introduce the archetype of the common Russian man into his plays. He vividly and truthfully depicted aspects of the national character that others had previously shied away from showing.
Ivan Goncharov once wrote to Ostrovsky: «Only after your appearance can we, Russians, proudly say, that we have our own Russian, national theatre. It rightly deserves to be called the 'Ostrovsky Theatre'.»
During our lecture, you will discover the enduring relevance of Ostrovsky’s works and their profound impact on the Russian dramatic theatre.
Lecturer
Nina Scherbak, Associate Professor in the Department of English Philology and Cultural Linguistics at St Petersburg University, Master of Arts (the United Kingdom), a writer and screenwriter. She is also a scriptwriter for science television shows, author of fifteen monographs, and books on linguistics, literature, language philosophy, and English literature.
The lecture will be held online in Spanish with simultaneous translation into Russian as part of the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of Russia’s oldest university, SPbU.