The folk theater is multifaceted and many-sided, but among its various types, the Petrushka puppet theater is the most striking and original. As folklore performance, the Petrushka Theater, existed in Russia from about the 18th century. It did not immediately acquire its finished, classic look. Let us recall the history of the development of Russian folk puppet comedy. A. Belitsky sees the first, naive forms of puppet theater in the rite, “in playing with a puppet, dressing up, “moskuludstve”. The abstract form of disguise in the puppet theater is also noted by A.V. Gruntovsky.

It is known that for the first time the Petrushka theater was described by the German scientist, diplomat and traveler Adam Olearius, who was in Russia twice in the forties of the 17th century. In the travel diary published later, Olearius describes the performances of buffoons-musicians who sang songs, danced, showed various scenes of a puppet show. In addition to the puppet show, Olearius also describes “bear fun”. The leaders of the bears “had with them such comedians who, by the way, could immediately perform some kind of trick or klutch (prank), as the Dutch call it, with the help of puppets. To do this, they tie a sheet around their body, lift its free side up and hold it over their heads, thus forming something like a stage ... with which they walk the streets and show various performances on it from dolls. The testimony of Olearius is confirmed by an illustration, which probably depicts the scene of the sale of a horse. The puppet show described by the traveler was probably a prototype of the puppet comedy about Petrushka of the 19th century, although the hero of this performance could have had a different name, and the storyline could have been different. In the 30s of the 17th century, puppet shows were based on an elementary plot, which served as the starting point for numerous improvisations of puppeteers. Presumably at that time there were already performances of the folk puppet theater, which were a success with common people and disliked by the authorities. Judging by the fact that these performances were shown in the programs of buffoon games, they were short and consisted of one or several short scenes. The comedy about Petrushka is often seen as a borrowed puppet game brought from the cultures of Western Europe or the East. Moreover, the time of borrowing is attributed to the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries. (as V.N. Peretz believed), then by the beginning of the 19th century. (according to the assumption of A.F. Nekrylova). “Precise data on the performances of Petrushka in the 18th century have not been preserved,” wrote V.D. Kuzmina, “but it is absolutely indisputable that such performances were and were a natural link between the Petrushka comedy that Olearius saw performed by buffoons XVII century, and folk puppet comedy of the XIX-XX centuries.

Comedy and its hero passed interesting, hard way, absorbing foreign and Russian features, reworking and mastering in a special way spectacular folklore, satirical genres of Russian folk art, the achievements of the democratic theater of the 17th-18th centuries and folk drama. V.N. Vsevolodsky-Gerngross in the work “Russian folk drama”Noted that the old Russian puppet hero, on the one hand, resembled the passive young man from The Tale of Grief-Misfortune, and on the other hand, the enterprising Frol Skobeev and differed from Petrushka, who was well known from the performances of the 19th century. The core of the plot of the puppet comedy was also formed: a young guy decides to get married, acquire a household, and therefore, first of all, he buys a horse from a gypsy. Having fallen from a horse, he turns to a charlatan doctor, unable to bear the deceit, kills him with a club and buries him. This story is clearly linked to folk games, which are based on a parody: on matchmaking, wedding, bargaining, treatment, funeral. By the 19th century, Petrushka's comedy had passed its formation. Using the principles of an impromptu game, the puppeteers began to present the simplest plots, which were based on some proto-plots, which were formed, as we have already mentioned, probably under the influence of pagan folk cults, rituals, games: “walking with a filly”, “matchmaking”, “clownery”. treatment”, “parodic funeral”, etc. Hence, the characters of the Petrushka Theater are in many ways similar to the characters of pagan disguises, such as an old man, an old woman, a gypsy, a priest, singers, a dead man. The plot was also determined, which began to consist of a chain of scenes based on the motive of Petrushka's meeting with different characters. The sequence of the main scenes later was fixed by tradition. Usually the comedy began with a greeting, a conversation on a topical topic, an appeal to a musician, followed by scenes with a bride, buying a horse, meeting with a doctor. Then, in a different order and quantity, Petrushka's encounters and clashes with various characters followed: a German, an officer, a soldier, a quarterly, a gentleman, a rap, a friend and others. The appearance of the characters "was given typical features by which it was easy to recognize the hero - his social status, profession, nationality." .

But let's talk about central character puppet comedy. Of all the versions about its origin, let's focus on the most famous. Perhaps our hero received the name "Petrushka" by the name of the well-known in Russia jester of Queen Anna Ioannovna, Pietro Mirro (aka Pedrillo, aka Petruha-Farnos, or simply Petruha). There are other hypotheses about the origin of the main character of the comedy. Petrushka could adopt his name on behalf of one of his predecessors - the ancient Hindu jester Vidushak, who in appearance and behavior strongly resembled Petrushka. Other versions are also possible. So in roadside actors-puppeteers early XVIII in. the name of Petrushka Ivanov is mentioned, and in the first half of the same century, the puppeteer Pyotr Yakubovskaya gave performances in Moscow, so it is likely that the puppet hero could borrow his name from one of the puppeteers, whose performances were the most popular. There is another assumption that also has the right to exist. Comic characters loved by the people often received nicknames for the names of various dishes and seasonings. So the European Hanstwurst, Jean Farina, Pikkelgering, Jack Snack had funny nicknames - Ivan Sausage, Ivan Muchnik, Pickled herring, light snack. Vanka Ratatouille (“ratatouille” is the name of a French vegetable dish) appears in a similar way, which indicates the connection of the Russian puppet character with his European relatives. In addition, the name "ratatouille" is also known in northern Russian dialects as "poor empty soup".

In the first third of the 18th century, Petrushka was respectfully called none other than Pyotr Ivanovich (Petrovich) Samovarov, and in the 19th century he was also known as Pyotr Ivanovich (Petrovich) Uksusov. And finally, perhaps our hero got his name from his Italian counterpart - Pulcinella, whose name is translated from Italian as "cockerel".

So who is Petrushka - social type, national character or a primitive man? AT folk theater the character of the character was perceived as a given, as a collection of certain, unchanging features. This theater was not interested specific person, he was worried about a person in the most general manifestation, as "a person in general." “Petrushka alone stood apart: he had no prototype in real life, since he belonged to the family of European folk jesters who had common features in appearance - a huge nose, a hump or two humps (front and back), a protruding chin, a stupid cap on his head” . Another characteristic feature of Petrushka is a special "musical" voice, created with the help of a special device - a squeaker. This inhuman voice, as well as four-fingeredness, indicate Petrushka's ancestral connection with the “other world”. And although in the comedy Petrushka tries on various social roles: he gets married, buys a horse, gets sick, goes to the soldiers, etc., he is by no means a social type. To see the national character in a character who belongs to the family of folklore jesters, possessing not only a similar appearance, but also character traits, is a hopeless occupation, although Petrushka, like all of them, has become a favorite folk puppet hero in Russia.

As we can see, Petrushka is referred not only to the characters that reveal the national character, but is correlated with the social type, and finally, with Homo Primitivus. Let us recall that Petrushka, like his brothers Pulcinella, Polichinel, Punch, was born in the theater of mask convention, in art, where naive-metaphorical thinking dominated, in the realm of farcical grotesque, rude folk reprise. The comic effect of the episodes in which the character participated was achieved by techniques typical of folk culture of laughter: fights, beatings, obscenities, imaginary deafness of the partner, funny movements and gestures, mocking, fun funerals, etc. According to M.M. Bakhtin, laughter “stupefies”, “unmasks”, returns to the world its original chaos and purifies it spiritually, absorbing everything negative.

The modern researcher A. Gref argues that Petrushka himself is not a social type, not a satirical character, and certainly not a national character, but a “primitive”, that is, Primary Man, Homo Primitivus, proto-man. Only from this point of view it is possible to understand the antisocial behavior of our hero, which, first of all, is associated with numerous fights. It is known that the meaning of a fight in the primary theater is interpreted as a ritual battle with "evil forces". However, over time, this value decreases to a fight with a variety of characters: a policeman, a city man, a soldier, a doctor. All these characters do not pose a threat to our hero, and only a representative of the infernal world (a dog or death itself) takes his life. The finale of the comedy - the end of Petrushka, means the end of the performance. But Petrushka is immortal! Death is ridiculed, with the resurrection of Petrushka, the comedy begins anew. As you can see, Petrushka was perceived as the main character of the Russian puppet theater. His image is “wider than the concepts of “negative and positive”: the people invented it for their own amusement and for the fear of those in power. He is negative, cruel, satirical and at the same time arouses some kind of aching tenderness towards himself. That is how he is remembered by many. famous artists, composers, writers and poets who, in their memoirs, describe their childhood and youthful impressions of the Petrushka Theater and the parsley-growers. This is evidenced by the memoirs of F. Chaliapin, M. Gorky, A. Benois. The impressions of meetings with Petrushka were conveyed in their works by N. Nekrasov (The poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”), I. Stravinsky in the ballet “Petrushka”. AT late XIX and the beginning of the 20th century, the comedy about Petrushka was unparalleled in popularity among other types of public art.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the popularity of this farcical hero fell. A new miracle appears in Russia - cinema and the merry fellow and mischievous Petrushka were no longer able to satisfy the needs of the public. With the advent of new life realities, the image of the classic Petrushka disappears. Against the backdrop of political changes in the country and the world, while continuing to be part of the holiday entertainment, Petrushka is also changing, new characters and plots appear. After the revolution of 1917 he was transformed into a victorious proletarian. The new government quickly realized the propaganda possibilities of the people's theater and put forward the slogan: "Return the theater to the people!" Special meaning given to the puppet theatre. A. Lunacharsky in his “Memorandum” to the People’s Commissariat of Education in 1918 wrote: “Easy technically, closely connected with all its elements with folk art, it will serve as a touchstone for establishing the true folk repertoire and for the development of those theatrical techniques that will lead to the inseparable merging of the stage with the people's audience. The first enthusiasts of the new puppet theater were artists, it was with their light hand that the first State theaters puppets in Leningrad and Moscow. In addition to plays with Petrushka, there were performances of I. Krylov's fables. The performances of the puppet theater by N. Simonovich-Efimova became widely known in the northern capital. Subsequently, she recalled: “There was a rout about the daughter’s name day in one familiar family, where poets and artists gathered. The mistress of the house asked me to show the puppet theater. By that time, “Sick Petrushka” (which I came up with for village children) had developed. I played it and two new fables. It was then that the fantastic, arrogant thoughts about the Petrushka Theater began to be justified, because when I had finished, Alexei Nikolayevich Tolstoy, who, it turned out, was in the audience, approached me and asked: “Who wrote the text of Petrushka for you? You know that it is very, very well written…” He continued: “Stanislavsky has been dreaming of a puppet theater for a long time and ordered me a play. I know how difficult it is to write for Petrushki, which is why I appreciated yours. You need to show your theater to Stanislavsky, I will arrange it”… And I arranged it. Two days later I played these pieces to Stanislavsky at his home, and a few days later - in Art Theater: for theater and studio artists". One of the first performances was a staging of A. Tolstoy's fairy tale "Merin". Official support led to the fact that major masters of art began to work in the puppet theater; among them are the composer Y. Shaporin, the artists V. Favorsky and the young Kukryniksy. At first, all these talented people relied on the experience of the old folk game. Petrushka, resurrected from non-existence as a hero of Soviet reality, did not at all seem like an anachronism or a false number. The doll of the “Red Army Petrushka”, created by the Kukryniksy, made a splash at the First All-European Exhibition theatrical puppets in Brussels in 1930 and became the emblem of the All-Union Union of Puppeteers. On the days of the celebrations (May 1, November 7), platforms appeared on the squares of large cities, from the barriers of which Petrushka, well known to the public in a red shirt, poured salty politostrots, causing general delight of the audience. Next to him were "class enemies": a priest in a cassock, a fat-bellied fist, a Nepman dressed to the nines. The Petrushka Theater becomes, first of all, a theater of revolutionary satire, a political theater. This is how “Cooperative Petrushka”, “Petrushka-Rabfakovets”, “Red Army Petrushka” appear. Puppet shows were timed to coincide with each of the many new holidays of the "red calendar": International Youth Day, Red Army Day, Enlightenment Day, etc. Recent opponents - Kolchak, Denikin, Wrangel, and the leaders of bourgeois Europe - Lloyd George , Poincaré, Curzon. The task is to promote the implementation of “ Soviet image life "becomes a priority for the Petrushka Theater. Now it is considered as the theater of the workers' club, responding to any significant events in the life of the factory or plant. He was supposed to ridicule truants, hooligans, bureaucrats from the administration of the enterprise. Petrushka often began to be assigned the role of a reasoner, introducing the viewer to the essence of the matter at the beginning of the performance and summing up at the end. The new theater also needed its authors. The Petrushka Theater became a literary theater. “The writers placed Petrushka in modern Soviet life, where he acted as a dues ex machine, but also as an ordinary stage hero. And Petrushka not only did not look like an anachronism, did not destroy the integrity of the stage narrative, but also remained a kind of literary standard that determined the development of this art. And here is an example of the title of one of the plays imitating folklore: “Amateur performance about the consumer business, about Nyurka, a merchant and a clerk, a merry Petrushka the storyteller,” the author is M.D. Volpin, famous Soviet playwright, poet and screenwriter. Parsley is beginning to be perceived as one of the "world images" of classical culture. M. Gorky spoke about this in a speech at the First Congress Soviet writers in 1934 He built a peculiar series of these images: "Hercules, Prometheus, Mikula Selyaninovich, Svyatogor, - further - Doctor Faust, Vasilisa the Wise, the ironic lucky Ivan the Fool and finally Petrushka, defeating the doctor, the priest, the policeman, the devil and even death" . Tolstoy's new work "The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio" brings to the stage a new resilient puppet hero Pinocchio, in which the main features of Petrushka are so clearly manifested. The new image completely fit into the context of the new time. In all its manifestations, it is strikingly reminiscent of the usual fair Petrushka. So, Petrushka merged with Pinocchio, and for a long time remained exclusively a character in the children's theater. This Petrushka has changed, ceased to be aggressive, "cultivated" and became just a cheerful little man. Over time, parsley began to appear at children's parties and New Year trees. Petrushka was in business and was a true hero Soviet theater dolls, as long as traditional art remained the only one. But when was born new theater, built on the principles of conditional psychologism, Petrushka became a complete absurdity, he could not withstand the psychological load, and any attempts to build his image with the help of a psychologically justified characteristic ended in failure. Petrushka did not take root in the theater of S. Obraztsov. From the end of the 40s, Petrushka disappeared altogether and for almost 50 years he was not remembered.

But time does not stand still. As proof, in the 2000s, a play for children “Petrushka at War” appeared in the genre of a farce parsley show about how Pyotr Petrovich Uksusov became a Red Army soldier and defeated all fascist enemies. Performance in one act, based on Russian folklore, for children from 6 years old. The performance is based on mischievous folk humor and satire.

Unfortunately, living tradition folklore theater dolls in our country is lost. At present, one can count on one hand those who are engaged in the reconstruction of the Petrushka Theater in the form in which it existed in the century before last. Huge work in this direction is carried out by the theater of A. Gref "Wandering Nativity" in Moscow, the theater "Papmashenniki" by V. Mizenin and the theater "Balagan" in St. Petersburg. The theater of Tatyana Chunakova, who continues the traditions of the theater of N. Simonovich-Efimova, is also well known. Puppeteers give their performances under open sky: in Moscow on the Arbat and in St. Petersburg on Nevsky Prospekt, in clubs and orphanages and, if invited, in apartments, reviving the tradition of the St. Petersburg theater N. Simonovich-Efimova. The Wandering Nativity becomes a theater accessible not only to children, but also to adult audiences. Every year the theater acquires not only many fans, but also people who seek to revive this type of puppet show locally, creating in schools and institutions additional education, clubs own Petrushka theater.

Municipal budgetary institution of culture City Palace of Culture of the village of Belye Bereg

Folk puppet theater Petrushka.

(Methodical material)

Compiled by:

Choirmaster Borisova A.N.

2. Plays for the folk puppet theater "Petrushka";

Folk puppet theater Petrushka.

PARSLEY,“the nickname of a farce doll, a Russian jester, a joker, a wit in a red caftan and in a red cap; name is Petrushka, also the whole clownish one, puppet den"(V.Dal). Parsley has been known since the 17th century. Russian puppeteers used marionettes (puppet theater on strings) and parsleys (glove puppets). Until the 19th century preference was given to Petrushka, by the end of the century - puppets, because. the parsley-makers teamed up with the organ-grinders. The parsley screen consisted of three frames fastened with staples and covered with chintz. She was placed directly on the ground and hid the puppeteer. The hurdy-gurdy gathered the audience, and behind the screen the actor began to communicate with the audience through a squeaker (whistle). Later, with laughter and a reprise, he ran out himself, in a red cap and with long nose. The organ-grinder sometimes became Petrushka's partner: because of the squeaker, speech was not always intelligible, and he repeated Petrushka's phrases, carried on a dialogue. The comedy with Petrushka was played out at fairs and in booths. From some memoirs and diaries of the 1840s, it follows that Petrushka had full name- he was called Peter Ivanovich Uksusov or Vanka Ratatuy. There were main plots: the treatment of Petrushka, training in the soldier's service, the scene with the bride, buying a horse and testing it. The stories were passed from actor to actor, by word of mouth. Not a single character in the Russian theater had the popularity equal to Petrushka.

Usually the performance began with the following plot: Petrushka decided to buy a horse, the musician calls a gypsy horse-dealer. Petrushka examined the horse for a long time and bargained with the gypsy for a long time. Then Petrushka was fed up with bargaining, and instead of money, he beat the gypsy on the back for a long time, after which he ran away. Petrushka tried to get on a horse, which threw him off to the laughter of the audience. This could go on until the people laughed. Finally the horse ran away, leaving Petrushka lying dead. The doctor came and asked Petrushka about his illnesses. It turned out that he was in pain. There was a fight between the Doctor and Petrushka, at the end of which Petrushka hit the enemy hard on the head with a club. “What kind of doctor are you,” Petrushka shouted, “if you ask where it hurts? Why did you study? He himself must know where it hurts! The quarterly appeared. “Why did you kill the doctor?” He answered: "Because he knows his science poorly." After interrogation, Petrushka beats the quarterly with a club on the head and kills him. A snarling dog came running. Petrushka unsuccessfully asked for help from the audience and the musician, after which he flirted with the dog, promising to feed it with cat meat. The dog grabbed him by the nose and dragged him away, and Petrushka shouted: “Oh, my little head with a cap and a brush is gone!” The music stopped, which meant the end of the show. If the audience liked it, they did not let the actors go, applauded, threw money, demanding continuation. Then they played a little scene Petrushka's wedding. The bride was brought to Petrushka, he examined her as they examine horses. He liked the bride, he did not want to wait for the wedding and began to beg her to "sacrifice herself." From the stage where the bride “sacrifices herself”, the women left and took their children with them. According to some reports, another scene, in which a clergyman was present, enjoyed great success. She did not get into any of the recorded texts; most likely, she was removed by censorship. There were scenes in which Petrushka did not participate. It was dancing and juggling with balls and sticks.

collapse Comedy about Petrushka starts at the beginning of the 20th century. Parsley began to appear at children's parties and Christmas trees, the text of the scenes changed, losing its sharpness. Petrushka stopped killing. He brandished his club and dispersed his enemies. He spoke politely, and the "wedding" changed, turning into a dance with the bride. Gone was the rude common language, and with it the individuality of the hooligan joker, to whom both old and young came running.

Until now, the puppet theater uses glove puppets, and behind the screen of the theater, Petrushka has given way to other heroes. “The organ-grinder is in our yard this spring, / He dragged the actors of the troupe on his back: / He unfolded the screen in the middle of the yard; / Janitors, lackeys, laundresses, coachmen / Crowded near the screens to stare, / How Petrushka will represent the comedy.

It seems that the search for the “first plot” of the first parsley is futile. And not only because they repeat the methodological costs of the “borrowing theory” (and more broadly than the comparative method in theater science and folklore), but also because in all folk cultures ah, on all continents they will give paradoxically positive results. Archaeological excavations, textual studies, myths, evidence of ethnographers today allow us to simultaneously consider culture as the source of this comedy. ancient rome, and the culture of the countries of the East. A similar doll was found by archaeologists even on Easter Island.

There is probably no point in searching for “first parsley”, because this phenomenon belongs to the universal culture. But the folk puppet comedy at the same time remains a purely national achievement. It is more reasonable to explain the identity of such comedies in many countries of the world by the similarity of dialectically developing in line with a single historical process folk cultures based on identical folk calendar games and socio-historical conditions.

According to travelers, the puppet comedian was always with the leader of the bear, who demonstrated “bear fun”. The content of the comedy was obscene. Here it is necessary to pay attention to the statements of witnesses that the puppeteer, as a rule, also played the role of a goat, a clown, a jester. It is quite natural that these roles were projected onto the puppet character as well. The puppet comedy in the complex of the buffoon performance seen was the last, “shock” number, which testifies to its success with the audience, who were not embarrassed by the buffoon content of the comedy. In the 17th century comedy was accompanied by a guslyar or horn player. He was a kind of link between the puppet and the audience: he called, collected payment, conducted a dialogue with the hero, acted as a raeshnik. The accompaniment of puppet comedy has changed over time. In the first half of the XVIII century. "Petrushka" performed his songs and dances to the sounds of a beep, violin. Later, when the hurdy-gurdy appeared in Russia in the second half of the 18th century, this mechanical wind instrument, which did not require musical ability, supplanted folk instruments. The appearance of the hurdy-gurdy in the system of folk puppet show testified, apparently, to the beginning of the extinction of this type of theater, its transition to the system of commercial farce performance.

During the period under study, the technique of showing performances of puppet comedy underwent partial changes. AT early XVII For centuries, a witty construction served as a screen, which looked like this: “... in front of a man in a women's skirt with a hoop on the hem, he lifted it up and, closing in this way, can calmly move his hands, lift the dolls up and present whole comedies ...” (18). This extremely mobile screen allowed the puppeteer to instantly start the performance and also finish it with lightning speed, if circumstances so required.

It is known that in the 19th century the arrangement of the screen was already different. “A sheet of krashenina was hung on two sticks, and because of this sheet the puppeteer showed his performance.” There were also more complex designs, when the puppeteer showed a performance from behind a screen forming a four-sided pillar. Inside the screen was placed a box with dolls (19). To install such screens, you need, of course, more time and, consequently, a more tolerant attitude of the authorities to the fact of showing the performance. However, given that in the XVII century. puppet comedy existed in the position of a persecuted folk theater, it is realistic to assume that at one time a screen-skirt was more practical for performers than the design of screens of the late 18th - 19th centuries. She, perhaps, saved the puppeteer from paying tax - the inevitable "every fifth money" in favor of the treasury.

During the performance, dolls that did not participate in this scene were most likely hung on the artist's chest. When the puppeteer lowered the skirt raised above his head and turned into a buffoon, a buffoon jester, the puppets hanging on his clothes served as additional clownish decorations and attributes.

In the texts of the Masquerade “Triumphant Minerva” by F. Volkov, the following passage was not entirely clear until now: “Momus or a mockingbird. It has dolls and bells on it.” Considering that this part of the masquerade was “theaters with puppeteers”, the analogy with the folk puppeteer, who lowered the screen-skirt and appeared before the audience, was the god of tomfoolery, hung with puppets.

It is possible that a new design of the screen appeared among Russian puppeteers along with the advent of the barrel organ.

The performance of "Petrushka" was given by two actors - a puppeteer and a local musician. This principle, apparently, remained unchanged throughout the entire period of comedy's life. Before early XIX centuries, the tradition of performing this comedy with the help of “glove” puppets may have remained unchanged.

Performances with the use of these puppets require a minimum of skill from the performers. The scenography of such a theater is much simpler, more conventional than the scenography of a professional puppet theater. This can be easily seen by comparing the drawing of Olearius with engravings depicting puppet performances in Western Europe at that time.

The Petrushka Theater did not know the scenery. He also did not know the numerous props inherent in the performances of professional puppeteers. The only sham detail of the comedy was a baton that dotted the finals. comic scenes, dropping down on the heads of Petrushka's enemies. In the course of the action, the same club was played by the main character like a violin, and like a broom, and like a gun.

Time changed not only the design of the screen, accompanying musical instruments, but also the plot of the performances, character, appearance, even the name of the protagonist.

This hypothesis is the most probable, but not the only one. The hero of the comedy (according to consonance) could adopt his name from the name of one of his predecessors - the ancient Hindu jester Vidushak, who had a hump, a “funny head”, which aroused the fun of the audience with his behavior (21). Both Vidushaka and Petrushka are both arguing, both are stupid with some kind of special, feigned carnival stupidity. The language of both heroes is the language of the crowd, the instruments of their reprisal are the club and laughter.

Other versions are equally possible. In roadside actors-puppeteers of the early 18th century. we meet the name of Petrushka Ivanov, and in the first half of the same century, the puppeteer Pyotr Yakubovskoy gave performances in Moscow. It is likely that the puppet hero could borrow his name from one of the puppeteers, whose performances were the most popular.

The following assumption, although it may seem unlikely, but also, apparently, has the right to exist. Jesters and folk comic heroes often received nicknames for the names of various foods and seasonings. Ganstvurst - Ivan Sausage (in Russia this name was translated as "hare fat"), Jean Farina - Ivan Muchnik, a French variety of Openwork, Pikkelgering - Pickled herring, Jack Snack - a light snack. Why shouldn't Petrushka get his name the same way? Later (probably in the first third of the 18th century) the surname Samovarov appeared in him in memory of a technical novelty that had taken root in Russia, introduced by Peter I.

In addition, there is every reason to assume that this hero - a loud-mouthed bully in a red cap, with a cock's profile, often depicted riding a rooster, himself - a spitting image of a rooster, could borrow from him along with his character and name. Moreover, in Russia every rooster is “Petya”.

One way or another, it should not be forgotten that Petrushka acquired his name in the “Petrov Age”, when the reformer of Russia, who did not know sentiments, in the apt expression of V.N. Vsevolodsky-Gerngross “signed his rescripts not with a pen, but with a club” (22) , and during rest hours, under the name of Petrushka Mikhailov, he drank and fooled around at “the most joking cathedrals”.

UNDER THE NAME "PARSLEY"

(People's Theater / Compiled, introductory article, preparation of texts and comments by A. F. Nekrylova, N. I. Savushkina. - M .: Sov. Russia, 1991. - (B-ka of Russian folklore; T. 10), pp. 251-254, comments pp. 506-507).

Exit parsley.

We wish you well, gentlemen. Be healthy, with that day and the holiday that is today. (Referring to Musician .) Musician! You know what brother?
Musician. And what?
Parsley. I, brother, want to get married.
Musician. Not a bad thing, but on whom?
Parsley. Oh-ee-ee! On Praskovya Stepanovna, on the merchant's daughter.
Musician. Do you take a lot of dowry, Vanya?
Parsley. Forty-four thousand and half a quart of vodka, two herrings, caviar and three-pound bottles.
Musician. The dowry is not bad, but the bride is good?
Parsley. Eee, very good!
Musician. Well, show me.
Parsley. I'll call now. (calls.) Paraskovia Stepanovna! Darling, my angel, flower, please come here! (Parascovia walks. At this time, Vanya meets and presses and kisses him tightly to his heart and asks.) How are you, Paraskovia Stepanovna? (Turns to the Musician.) Musician! What about my fiancee?
Musician. Good, good, but a little blind.
Parsley. Not true! What an eye, what an eyebrow, mouth, nose, and what boobs (and at this time kisses). Musician! Play us Kamarinsky!

Vanya and the Bride dance and sing:

Well, move
When the money started!
Go, hut, go, bake,
The owner has nowhere to lie.

Then Vanya hugs her and escorts her home.

Parsley. Musician! Thank God I got married.
Musician. Now I need to buy a horse for my young wife.
Parsley. That's it, brother, from whom to buy?
Musician. Gypsy Gavril.
Parsley. Where does he live?
Musician. On right side in a big pub.
Parsley (calling Gypsy). Hey, Gavrylo, smeared snout, come here!
Gypsy (walks and sings).
Yes, the fog is furious,
And the frost in the valley
Yes, between the fogs
The gypsies stood.
And bov is healthy, sir. What do you require?
Parsley. I heard that you have a sales horse. Do you want expensive? And is she good?
Gypsy. Good is good. Not a sopat, not a humpback, alive, not undermined, but running - the earth trembles, but falls - lies for three days, and in the mud - burst, even carry it yourself.
Parsley. As much as you want?
Gypsy. Two hundred and fifty rubles.
Parsley. It is expensive.
Gypsy. How much pan will give?
Parsley. One hundred rubles.
Gypsy. Not enough, sir, give.
Parsley. One hundred and twenty.
Gypsy. Come on, sir, a deposit.
Parsley. Bring a horse.
Gypsy. I won't give you a horse without a deposit. Farewell, sir. (Petrushka at this time catches the Gypsy by the forelock and hits the wall.) Having bought without buying, there is no need to fight. Come on, sir, a deposit. (At this time, Vanya leaves.) Our business is to steal, sell, exchange, get money, eat, drink. (At this time, Vanya is carrying a stick.)
Parsley. Well, gypsies, get a deposit! (And hits him on the head with a stick.) Here's a ruble for you!
Gypsy (shouts). A-ya-yay!
Parsley. Here's two, three, four, five.

The gypsy receives a deposit and runs away.

Parsley (leaves on a horse). And what, musician, is my horse good for a young wife?
Musician. Nice, just chrome.
Parsley. You're lying, she's good! Play me a gallop.

While riding, the horse throws off and beats Vanya and then runs away. At this time, Vanya screams.

Parsley. Oh my god! It hurts around the heart! Who will get my Paraskovya Stepanovna?
Musician. What's happened?
Parsley. Call me a doctor!
Musician. And here comes the doctor.
Doctor. I am a doctor-healer, a German pharmacist. They bring me on their feet, and send them on crutches. Where does it hurt?
Parsley. Higher!
Doctor. Here "- where exactly?
Parsley. Lower!
Doctor. Here "- where exactly?
Parsley. Higher!
Doctor. The devil will sort you out: then higher, then lower, then higher, then lower! Get up, be healthy!
Vania (rises). And how much, doctor, for your work?
Doctor. Five rubles. (Vanya went.) Come on, money! Our job is to prescribe the medicine, money, tear the skin and send it to the next world.

At this time, Vanya enters and instead of five rubles brings a stick and gives the doctor blows with a stick.

Parsley. Here's a ruble for you, here's two for you! Here's three for you!

The doctor does not receive the rest of the money, but runs away.

Parsley (Musician). And what, did the doctor get money well?
Musician. Okay.
Parsley. Oh, now I'll sit down and sit and sing a song.
Chizhik-pyzhik, where have you been?
I drank vodka at the market.
Drank a glass, drank two -
Spinning around in my head!
Policeman (hitting Vanya). Are you here, scoundrel, making noise, screaming, not letting anyone sleep? I will send Barbosa to you, he will bite off your long nose!

At this time runs watchdog , Vanya stops and starts teasing him.

Parsley. Qiu-qiu!
Barbos. Bow-wow! (Seizes Vanya.)
Parsley(secondary teasing). Qiu-qiu!
Barbos. Bow-wow! (Seizes him.)
Parsley (says goodbye to the audience and shouts). Barbos, Barbos, my long nose is gone!

The end of the orator Vanya.

The Russians knew three types of puppet theater: the puppet theater (in which the puppets were controlled with the help of threads), the Petrushka theater with glove puppets (the puppets were put on the puppeteer's fingers) and the nativity scene (in which the puppets were motionlessly fixed on the rods and moved along the slots in the boxes) . The puppet theater was not widely used. The Petrushka Theater was popular. The nativity scene was distributed mainly in Siberia and southern Russia.

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

An early sketch of the Petrushka Theater dates back to the 1930s. 17th century This illustration was placed by the German traveler Adam Olearius in the description of his journey to Muscovy. Regarding the drawing, D. A. Rovinsky wrote: "... A man, having tied a woman's skirt with a hoop in the hem to his belt, lifted it up - this skirt covers him above his head, he can freely move in it, move his hands, put dolls on top and present whole comedies.<...>In the picture, on a portable skirt stage, it is not difficult to distinguish the classic comedy that has come down to our time about how a gypsy sold a horse to Petrushka. The scenes, according to Olearius, were always of the most modest content.

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

In the 19th century 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 hurdy-gurdy and small props (sticks or ratchet clubs, rolling pins, etc.). The theater of Petrushka did not know the scenery.

The puppeteer, accompanied by a musician, usually an organ grinder, went from court to court and gave traditional performances about Petrushka. It could always be seen during festivities, at fairs.

About the device of the Petrushka Theater, D. A. Rovinsky wrote: “The doll has no body, but only a simple skirt is forged, to which an empty cardboard head is sewn on top, and hands, also empty, on the sides. The puppeteer sticks the doll into the 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.

The characteristic features of the appearance of Petrushka are 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, smart boots on his feet; or from a clownish two-tone clown outfit, collar and cap with bells. The puppeteer spoke for Petrushka with the help of a squeaker - a device due to which the voice became sharp, shrill, rattling. (Pishchik was made of two curved bone or silver plates, inside of which a narrow strip of linen ribbon was strengthened). For the rest of the actors in the comedy, the puppeteer spoke in his natural voice, pushing the squeaker behind his cheek.

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

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

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

Petrushka Theater

Petrushka Theater

AT folk art was also known puppet theater: marionette theater(in it, the dolls were controlled with the help of threads), Petrushka theater with glove puppets (the puppets were put on the puppeteer's fingers) and nativity scene(in it, the dolls were motionlessly fixed on the rods and moved along the slots in the boxes).

The Petrushka 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 is usually from 7 to 20), a hurdy-gurdy and small props (sticks or ratchet clubs, rolling pins, etc.). The theater of Petrushka did not know the scenery. The puppeteer, accompanied by a musician, usually an organ grinder, went from court to court and gave traditional performances about Petrushka. It could always be seen during festivities, at fairs. The main character was Petrushka, after whom the theater is 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 the Italians often performed in St. Petersburg and other cities.

In the Petrushka Theater, separate satirical scenes were presented. A.M. Gorky noted that "the invincible puppet hero defeated everyone and everything: priests, the police, the devil and death. He himself remained immortal." one

Here is how D.A. Rovinsky's performance of the Petrushka Theater, which he witnessed:

“This comedy is being played in Moscow, near Novinsky. [...] Its content is very simple: at first Petrushka appears, lies all sorts of nonsense in verse, burr and nasal in his nose, - the conversation is conducted by means of a typewriter, attached to the sky, over the tongue, just like The Gypsy appears, offers Petrushka a horse, Petrushka examines it, and receives kicks from the horse now in the nose, now in the belly, the whole comedy is filled with jerks and kicks, they constitute the most essential and most ridiculous part for spectators. Bargaining in progress, - Gypsy speaks without a typewriter, in a bass voice. After a long auction, Petrushka buys a horse; Gypsy leaves. Petrushka sits on his purchase; the purchase hits him front and back, throws Petrushka and runs away, leaving him dead on the stage. A plaintive howl follows Parsley and lamentations on premature death good fellow. The Doctor comes

Where does it hurt?

Here!

And here?

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

What kind of Doctor are you, - Petrushka shouts to him, - if you ask where it hurts? What did you study for? You must know where it hurts!

A few more minutes - the Quarterly, or, in a puppet style, “fatal fiter” appears. Since on the stage lies dead body, then Petrushka is subjected to a strict interrogation (treble):

Why did you kill the Doctor?

Answer (on the nose):

Then, that he knows his science poorly - he looks at the beaten man, what he does not see, and he also asks him.

Word for word, - apparently, the interrogation of Fatal Petrushka does not like it. He seizes the former stick, and a fight begins, which ends with the destruction and expulsion of the Fatal, to the general delight of the spectators; this puppet protest against the police usually makes a real sensation in the public.

The play, it would seem, ended; but what to do with Petrushka? And then a wooden Poodle Dog, pasted over the tail and legs with shreds of whipped cotton wool, runs into the stage, and starts barking with all his urine (the bark is attached at the bottom of the husky).

Shavochka-darling, - Petrushka caresses her, - let's go live with me, I'll feed you cat meat.

But Shavochka grabs Petrushka by the nose for no reason; Parsley aside, she holds his hand, he takes the other, she again holds his nose; Finally, Petrushka takes a shameful flight. And so the comedy ends. If there are many spectators and Petrushkin's matchmaker, i.e. the chief comedian will be given vodka, then after that a special interlude is presented called Petrushka's wedding. There is no plot in it, but there is a lot of action. Petrushka brings the bride Varushka; he examines her in the manner of a horse. Petrushka liked Varyushka very much, and he could not bear to wait for the wedding, which is why he began to beg her: “Sacrifice yourself, Varyushka!” Then the final scene takes place, in which the fair sex cannot be present. This is the real and “latest end” of the show; then Petrushka goes to the outdoor 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 stung by a snake (Eve?); here, finally, the game of two Pagliacs with balls and a stick is shown. The latter comes out with experienced puppeteers extremely deftly and funny: the doll has no body, but only a simple skirt is faked, to which an empty cardboard head is sewn on top, and hands, also empty, from 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 puppet on each arm, and in this way acts with two puppets at once. In puppet comedy there is always a hurdy-gurdy, which replaced the old classical bagpipe, harp and whistle; the organ grinder at the same time serves as a “push”, i.e. enters into conversations with Petrushka, asks him questions and urges him to continue his lies without stopping.