Parsley. Street theater

It is believed that the birthplace of modern puppet theater is India and Ancient China... Later, this kind of democratic art was introduced by itinerant artists, possibly gypsies, into Ancient Greece and from there spread throughout Europe. It is not known for certain when puppeteers appeared in our country, but the Russian folk theater of Petrushka for about three centuries enjoyed great popularity among people of all ages and classes.

Background

Researchers believe that there were 3 types in Russia:

• puppet, in which the puppets were manipulated with strings;
• the Petrushka theater - with figurines of characters put on the puppeteer's fingers;
• nativity scene - a theater in which the puppets were fixed on rods and moved along the slots made in a special box.

The latter option was popular only in the southern regions of the country and in Siberia, and until the end of the 19th century, puppets, due to the complexity of the figurines, were used quite rarely. Thus, speaking about Russian pre-revolutionary puppet shows, they most often have in Petrushki. It got its name from the name of the protagonist of funny performances played right on the street.

Who is Parsley

This nickname was given to the glove doll, which was usually dressed in a red shirt, canvas pants and a pointed cap with a tassel. It is still not entirely clear why her physiognomy was traditionally given "non-Russian" features. In particular, he has an excessively large head and arms, a swarthy face, huge almond-shaped eyes and Most likely, Petrushka's appearance is due to the fact that he was created in the image and likeness of the Italian Pulcinella.

As for the character of the character, he is also a swindler to whom no laws are written.

The appearance of Parsley

In Russia, a glove doll with strange facial features and named Ivan Ratutyu appeared in the 17th century. However, it received the greatest distribution and its final name only 200 years later. By the way, Petrushka himself introduced himself as Pyotr Ivanovich (sometimes Petrovich) Vksusov.

Early description of theater

In the 17th century, performances were performed without a screen. More precisely, traditional theater Petrushka assumed the participation of only one actor, who tied a skirt to a belt. A hoop was sewn to her hem, raising which, the puppeteer turned out to be hidden from prying eyes. He could move his arms freely and present scenes with the participation of two characters. At the same time, the comedian almost always worked in tandem with the bear leader and also performed the functions of a clown.

Description of the theater after the middle of the 19th century

From the 1840s, a screen began to be used. It consisted of three frames, which were fastened with staples and tightened with chintz. She was placed directly on the ground, and she hid the puppeteer. An obligatory attribute, without which it was impossible to imagine the Petrushka theater, was the organ. Her sounds called out to the audience, and behind the screen, the comedian communicated with the audience through a special whistle. During the performance, he could run out to the audience wearing a long nose and a red cap. In this case, the organ grinder became his partner, and together they acted out comic scenes.

Puppeteers

The Petrushka Theater, whose history is not fully understood, was considered purely male. To make the voice of the puppeteer more squeaky and loud, a special whistle was used, which was inserted into the larynx. In addition, the puppeteer tried to speak very quickly and it was disgusting to laugh at every joke.

Plots

The plays of the theater (Petrushka was their main, but not the only hero) were rather monotonous. Main plots: treatment and training in the soldier's service, a date with a bride, buying and testing a horse. The scenes followed one after the other in a certain order. At the same time, the duration of the performance depended on how long the audience honored this street performance with their attention.

The action took place in the following sequence:

• Parsley decides to buy a horse from a gypsy dealer. He has been bargaining with the seller for a long time. Then he gets tired of this occupation, and he hits the gypsy who runs away.
• Parsley tries to mount the horse, but she throws him off and goes after the young man, leaving the cunning guy to lie motionless.
• The doctor comes. He asks Petrushka about his ailment. It turns out that he has a thousand diseases. The doctor and Petrushka fight, as the patient calls the doctor an ignoramus. The bully hits the medic with a truncheon on the head.
• The quarterly appears and asks Petrushka why he killed the doctor. The rogue replies that he "does not know his science well." Then Petrushka hits the quartermaster with a truncheon and kills him. A dog comes running. Petrushka addresses the audience and asks for help. Then he tries to appease the dog and promises to feed her with cat meat. The dog grabs Petrusha by the nose and drags him away. This was the end of the show, and the audience dispersed.

"Petrushkina's wedding"

Sometimes, usually during Maslenitsa and other festivities, the performance could go on even longer at the request of the audience. Then they played the scene "The Wedding of Petrushka". Her plot was crude and frivolous. The bride was brought to Petrushka, whom he examined as if it were a horse. After he agreed to marry, the bride began to persuade him to “sacrifice herself” before the wedding. From that moment on, the spectators left, taking the children away. The remaining men listened with delight to Petrushka's greasy jokes.

There was also a scene with a priest or a clerk. However, due to censorship considerations, she was not included in any of the collections where the texts of the performances with Petrushka were recorded.

"Death"

Among the characters of the Petrushka theater was one of the most sinister, who defeated the main character. It was Death, who, after a verbal skirmish, took Petrushka with her. However, the hero soon resurrected elsewhere. This circumstance became the reason that some researchers began to find a connection between Petrushka and pagan deities who endlessly died and were reborn here and there.

Puppet theaters in Moscow

Before the October Revolution, such permanent cultural institutions did not exist, and performances were staged by solo artists on the streets or in booths, or they were invited to private homes to entertain guests. The first real puppet theaters in Moscow appeared in the early 1930s. The most famous of them eventually became the largest in the world. This is the theater. S. Obraztsova. It is located at: st. Sadovaya-Samotechnaya, 3. Besides him, at about the same time, the Moscow Puppet Theater appeared in the capital, originally created to popularize children's literature. He toured the country and introduced viewers to new works by Soviet authors, written specifically for the younger generation.

Later, other puppet theaters in Moscow appeared: "Albatross", "Firebird", "Fairytale", "Chamber" and others. In them you can watch not only children's performances, but also performances specially created for adults.

To preserve the traditions of Russian street performances for children and adults, Andrei Shavel and artist Valentina Smirnova organized a new creative team... It was named the Russian folk theater "Petrushka" and made its debut in 1989 in the city of Frezino.

The theater arranges performances lasting 30 minutes right on the street and tries not to deviate from the traditional scenarios of farce performances.

The emergence of the theater "Petrushka" is associated with the desire of its founders to preserve the best that was in the street mass art of the past centuries.

Performances are also performed indoors. In such cases, the audience is also introduced to the history of Petrushka and the Russian balagan theater. In their work, actors use props, which are exact copy screens and dolls that their predecessors used to entertain the public on the streets of Russian cities 150-200 years ago.

Now you know how the Russian folk theater puppetry came into being. Parsley is still of interest to children today, so be sure to take them to some show in a bohemian style.

The folk theater is multifaceted and multifaceted, but among its various types, the most striking and original is the Petrushka puppet theater. As a folklore performance, the Petrushka Theater has existed in Russia since about the 18th century. Its finished, classic look he did not acquire it immediately. 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 ritual, “playing with a doll, dressing up,“ Moskoludstvo ”. The abstract form of dressing 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 a 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 such comedians with them who, by the way, could immediately imagine some piece 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 above their head, thus forming a kind of scene ... with which they walk the streets and show different performances from dolls on it. " Olearius's testimony is supported by an illustration that probably depicts a scene of a horse being sold. The puppet show described by the traveler was probably the prototype of the 19th century puppet comedy about Petrushka, although the hero of this performance could have had a different name, and the storyline could be different. In the 30s of the 17th century, the puppet performances were based on an elementary plot, which served as a starting point for numerous improvisations by puppeteers. Presumably at this time there were already views folk theater dolls that were popular with common people and disliked by the authorities. Judging by the fact that these performances were shown in the programs of buffoonery 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 countries. Western Europe or the East. Moreover, the time of borrowing is attributed to the end of the XVI - early XVII centuries (as V.N. Peretz believed), then by the beginning of the 19th century. (according to the assumption of A.F. Nekrylova). “There is no exact data on the performances of Petrushka in the 18th century,” wrote V.D. Kuzmina, “but it is absolutely indisputable that such performances were and were a natural link between the comedy of Petrushka, which Olearius saw performed by buffoons 17th century, and folk puppet comedy of the XIX-XX centuries. ”.

The comedy and its hero have traveled an interesting, difficult path, absorbing foreign and Russian features, reworking and in a special way mastering spectacular folklore, satirical genres of Russian folk art, the achievements of the democratic theater of the 17th - 18th centuries and folk drama. VN Vsevolodsky-Gerngross in his work "Russian folk drama" noted that the old Russian puppet hero resembled, on the one hand, a passive young man from “The Tale of Grief-Misfortune”, and on the other - the enterprising Frol Skobeev and differed from that Petrushka, who was well known for the performances of the 19th century. The nucleus of the plot of the puppet comedy was also formed: a young guy decides to get married, to acquire a farm, and therefore first of all he buys a horse from a gypsy. Falling from his horse, he turns to a charlatan doctor, not tolerating deception, kills him with a club and buries him. In this plot, there is clearly a connection with folk games, which are based on a parody: matchmaking, wedding, bargaining, treatment, funeral. TO XIX century the comedy of Petrushka has passed its formation. Using the principles of improvised play, puppeteers began to present the simplest plots, based on certain proto-plots that were formed, which we have already mentioned, probably under the influence of pagan folk cults, rituals, games: "walking with a filly", "matchmaking", "buffoonery treatment ”,“ mock 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 pop, singers, and the deceased. 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 was subsequently fixed by tradition. Usually a comedy began with a greeting, a conversation on a topical topic, an appeal to a musician, followed by scenes with the bride, buying a horse, meeting with a doctor. Then, in a different order and number, Petrushka's encounters and clashes with various characters followed: a German, an officer, a soldier, a quartermaster, a gentleman, a black man, 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 the central character puppet comedy. Of all the versions about its origin, we will focus on the most famous. Perhaps our hero received the name "Petrushka" after the famous Russian jester of Tsarina Anna Ioanovna, Pietro Mirro (aka Pedrillo, aka Petruha-Farnos, or simply Petrukha). There are other hypotheses about the origin of the comedy protagonist. Petrushka could have adopted his name on behalf of one of his predecessors - the ancient Hindu jester Vidushak, who closely resembled Petrushka in appearance and behavior. Other versions are also possible. So in the road to the puppeteer actors early XVIII v. 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 a right to exist. Comic characters loved by the people often received nicknames for the names of various dishes and spices. So the European Ganstwurst, Jean Farina, Pickelgering, Jack Snack had funny nicknames - Ivan Sausage, Ivan Muchnik, Pickled herring, light snack. Vanka Ratatouille (“ratatouille” is the name of a French vegetable dish) probably 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 XVIII For centuries, Petrushka is respectfully called Petr Ivanovich (Petrovich) Samovarov, and in the 19th century he is also known as Petr Ivanovich (Petrovich) Uksusov. And finally, perhaps our hero got his name from his Italian brother - Pulcinella, whose name is translated from Italian as "cockerel".

So who is Petrushka - a social type, a national character, or a primitive person? In the folk theater, the character of the character was perceived as a given, as a collection of any definite, unchanging traits. This theater was not interested in a specific person, it was worried about a person in the most general manifestation, as “a person in general”. “Parsley alone stood apart: he did not have a prototype in real life, since he belonged to the family of European folklore jesters who possessed common features in external appearance- a huge nose, a hump or two humps (front and back), a protruding chin, a stupid cap on the head. " Another one feature Parsley is a special "musical" voice created with the help of a special device - a squeak. This inhuman voice, as well as four-fingeredness, indicate the ancestral connection of Petrushka with the "otherworldly" world. And although in the comedy Petrushka, he tries on various social roles: he gets married, buys a horse, gets sick, goes to the soldier, etc., he is in no way a social type. To see the national character in a character who belongs to a family of folklore jesters, possessing not only a similarity of appearance, but also character traits, is a futile occupation, although Petrushka, like all of them, has become a favorite folk puppet hero in Russia.

As you can see, Petrushka is attributed not only to the characters that reveal the national character, but is correlated with the social type, and finally, with Homo Primitivus. Let's remember that Petrushka, like his brothers - Pulcinella, Punchinelle, Punch, was born in the theater of mask convention, in art, where naive metaphorical thinking prevailed, in the realm of farce grotesque, rude folk reprise. The comic effect of the episodes in which the character participated was achieved with techniques characteristic of folk laughter culture: fights, beatings, obscenities, imaginary deafness of a partner, funny movements and gestures, mimics, funny funerals, etc. According to MM Bakhtin, laughter “dulls”, “exposes”, returns the world to 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 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 can we understand the asocial behavior of our hero, which is primarily associated with numerous fights. It is known that the meaning of a fight in the primary theater is interpreted as a ritual fight with “ evil forces". However, over time, this value decreases to a fight with a variety of characters: a policeman, a policeman, 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 end of the comedy - the end of Petrushka, means the end of the performance. But Parsley 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 the amusement and fear of the powers that be. He is negative, cruel, satirical and at the same time arouses a kind of nagging tenderness to himself. " This is how he was remembered by many famous artists, composers, writers and poets who, in their memoirs, describe childhood and youthful impressions of the Petrushka theater and the parsley workers. This is evidenced by the memoirs of F. Chaliapin, M. Gorky, A. Benois. The impressions of the meetings with Petrushka were conveyed in their compositions by N. Nekrasov (Poem "Who Lives Well in Russia"), I. Stravinsky in the ballet "Petrushka". V late XIX and at the beginning of the 20th century, the comedy about Petrushka was unmatched in popularity among other types of art on the street.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the popularity of this buffoonery hero fell. A new miracle appears in Russia - cinema and the merry fellow and mischievous Petrushka was no longer able to satisfy the needs of the public. With the advent of new life realities, the image of the classic Petrushka leaves. Against the backdrop of political changes in the country and the world, while continuing to remain part of the holiday amusements, Petrushka is also changing, new characters and plots appear. After the revolution of 1917. he was transformed into a victorious proletarian. New power quickly realized the propaganda potential of the people's theater and put forward the slogan: "Return the theater to the people!" Special meaning was attached to the theater of puppets. A. Lunacharsky wrote in his Memorandum to the People's Commissariat for Education in 1918: folk art, it will serve as a touchstone for establishing a true folk repertoire and for developing those theatrical techniques that will lead to an inextricable fusion of the stage with the popular audience. " The first enthusiasts of the new puppet theater were artists, from their light hand the first State theaters puppets in Leningrad and Moscow. In addition to plays with Petrushka, it staged performances of I. Krylov's fables. The performances of N. Simonovich-Efimova's puppet theater became widely known in the northern capital. Later, she recalled: “There was a party on the occasion of the birthday of my daughter in a familiar family, where poets and artists gathered. The hostess of the house asked me to show the puppet theater. By that time, Sick Petrushka (which I had invented for the village children) had been developed. I played him and two new fables. It was then that the fantastic, arrogant thoughts about the Petrushek theater began to be justified, because when I had finished, Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy, who turned out to be among the audience, came up to me and asked: “Who wrote you the text of Petrushka? You know that it is very, very well written "... He continued:" Stanislavsky has long dreamed of a puppet theater and ordered me a play. I know how difficult it is to write for the Petrushekas, which is why I appreciated yours. You need to show your theater to Stanislavsky, I will arrange it ”... And I did it. Two days later, I played these plays to Stanislavsky at his home, and a few days later - in Art theater: for theater and studio artists ". One of the first performances was the dramatization of A. Tolstoy's fairy tale "Merin". Official support led to the fact that great masters of the arts 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 games. Petrushka, resurrected from oblivion as a hero of Soviet reality, did not at all seem an anachronism or a plug-in number. The doll of the "Red Army Petrushka" created by the Kukryniksy made a splash at the First All-European Exhibition theater puppets in Brussels in 1930 and became the emblem of the All-Union Union of Puppeteers. During the days of the celebrations (May 1, November 7), platforms appeared on the squares of large cities, from the barriers of which the well-known public Petrushka in a red shirt poured salty polystrots from the barriers, causing general delight of the audience. Next to him were "class enemies": a priest in a cassock, a fat-bellied fist, nepman dressed with a needle. The Petrushka Theater becomes, first of all, a theater of revolutionary satire, a political theater. This is how "Cooperative Petrushka", "Petrushka-Rabfakovets", "Krasnoarmeisky Petrushka" appeared. Puppet shows were timed to coincide with each of the many new holidays of the "red calendar": International Youth Day, Red Army Day, Day of Enlightenment, etc. Recent opponents also appeared on the stage - Kolchak, Denikin, Wrangel, and the leaders of bourgeois Europe - Lloyd George , Poincaré, Curzon. The task of promoting the introduction of the "Soviet way of life" is becoming a priority for the Petrushka Theater. It is now regarded as a workers' club theater that responds to all significant events in the life of a factory or plant. He should have ridiculed truants, hooligans, bureaucrats from the administration of the enterprise. Petrushka often began to play the role of a reasoner, who introduces the viewer to the heart of the matter at the beginning of the performance and summarizes it in the finale. The new theater also needed its own authors. The Petrushka Theater became a literary theater. “Writers put Petrushka in modern Soviet life, where he played the role of dues ex machine, but also as an ordinary stage hero... And Petrushka not only did not look anachronistic, did not destroy the integrity of the stage narration, but also remained a kind of literary standard that determines the development of this art. " And here is an example of the title of one of the plays imitating folklore: "An amateur performance about consumer business, about Nyurka, a merchant and a clerk, a cheerful Petrushka the storyteller", author - M.D. Volpin, a 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 his speech at the First Congress Soviet writers in 1934. He built a peculiar series of these images: "Hercules, Prometheus, Mikula Selyaninovich, Svyatogor, - then - Doctor Faust, Vasilisa the Wise, the ironic successful Ivan the Fool, and finally Petrushka, defeating the doctor, priest, policeman, devil and even death." Tolstoy's new work "The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio" brings to the stage a new cheerful puppet hero Pinocchio, in which the main features of Petrushka are so clearly manifested. The new image fit entirely into the context of the new time. In all its manifestations, it strikingly resembles the usual fairground Parsley. So, Petrushka merged with Pinocchio, and for a long time remained exclusively a character children's theater... This Petrushka has changed, has ceased to be aggressive, "cultivated" and has become just a cheerful little man. Over time, parsley began to appear at children's parties and Christmas trees... Parsley got busy 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 conventional psychologism, Petrushka became utterly absurd, he could not withstand the psychological stress, and all attempts to build his image using a psychologically grounded characterization ended in failure. " In the theater of S. Obraztsov, Petrushka did not take root. Since the end of the 40s, Petrushka has disappeared altogether and has not been remembered for almost 50 years.

But time does not stand still. As proof, in the 2000s, a play for children "Parsley in the War" appeared in the genre of a farcical 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, a living tradition folklore theater dolls in our country are lost. Currently, you 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. A great deal of work in this direction is being carried out by A. Gref's theater "The Wandering Nativity" in Moscow, the theater "Papmashenniki" by V. Mizenin and the theater "Balagan" in St. Petersburg. The theater of Tatiana Chunakova, which continues the traditions of the theater of N. Simonovich-Efimova, is also well known. The puppeteers give their performances under open air: in Moscow on Arbat and in St. Petersburg on Nevsky Prospekt, in clubs and orphanages and in the case of invitations to apartments, reviving the tradition of the St. Petersburg theater N. Simonovich-Efimova. The Wandering Nativity scene is becoming a theater that is accessible not only for children, but also for adults. Every year the theater gains not only a lot of fans, but also people striving to revive this type of puppet show locally, creating in schools, institutions additional education, the clubs have their own Petrushka theater.

Bryansk region, Palace of culture of the village. White Shores, choirmaster.

Game script - entertainment program for children of primary school age. "Fair Theater Petrushka" April 3, 2015
With the participation vocal group folk singing Crane

Target:
Study and promotion of folk (folklore) creativity.
Tasks:
-To acquaint with the history and features of the fairground puppet show;
-To acquaint with the characters (dolls) and the peculiarities of their manufacture and management;
-Show options for play songs and teach the basics of folk household "playing" songs and dances;
-To teach children to just play dance games, song games, round dance games, and not compete for prizes.

Game material:
"Cabinet" of dolls: Petrushka, Bride, Doctor-healer, Gypsy, Mukhtarka Dog, Horse.
Screen;
Tambourine;
Bag.

Musical material:
Organ records;
"Like at the gate" (folk song);
"The month is shining" (folk song);
"Chizhik Pyzhik" (folk tunes).

Application:
Methodical material "History of the Puppet Folk Theater Petrushka".

Veda: Good day to all. We are glad to see you here with us again. I hope you all remember how we behave. Sit quietly, listen carefully, and they will offer you not to refuse tea.

Through wide Russia to our mother
The bells ringing overflows.
In cities both large and small
The people are going to the booths.

As people gather at our gates.
All that with spoons and ratchets.
As our neighbor had a merry conversation.
Geese in the harp, ducks in the pipes,
Tap-beads in ratchets, seagulls in balalaikas.
They sing and play, amuse everyone!

What you can't hear enough here, what you can't see here!
Here are toys, here are Parsley,
Tea from a samovar, kvass from a mug!

Hurry people, gather people,
Come on in, people, now the holiday is here!

"Like at our gates" (folk song performed by the folklore association "Zhuraveika")

Ved: Guys, today we invite you to the Fair Balagan. Yes, not just open your mouth to stand, but find my friend. Now look to the right, and now to the left. How can you not see it? No? But let me tell you what it is, then you will immediately find it. Listen.
He has a red cap, a bright shirt, a long and cunning nose, and a stick in his hand. Everyone loves him. In the old days he performed both in the countryside and in the city in courtyards and squares. He moved from place to place, from city to city. He is cunning and cocky, and he also adores all sorts of pranks.
In a bright red jacket
He is with a club in his hand.
Funny toy
And her name is ... (Petrushka)
(Children answer - "Petrushka")

Ved: Parsley is a cheerful guy who loves the hurdy-gurdy to play, and then he dances. Hurdy-gurdy is such musical instrument... Here she is so beautiful. (Points to the organ) And the sound is very melodic. Hey, musician, play us something funny, and I'll go and call my friend Petrushka. Let him show himself to the guys and dance. (calling, retreating behind the screen) Parsley. Peter Ivanovich. Petrusha where are you?
(the musician begins to twist the handle of the barrel organ. The old melody of the barrel organ sounds)
"Parsley"
A play in five scenes.

Characters
Parsley

Gypsy

Horse

Musician

Praskovya Stepanovna - Bride of Petrushka

Doctor

Mukhtarka dog

Scene one
Musician: (calling) Petrushka. Petrusha, come out. Show yourself to the people.
Petrushka: (from behind the screen) As. Nope.
Musician. Petrusha, come out. See, the people are waiting. Come out.
Parsley. I'm afraid.
Musician. You should not be scared. We'll clap you. Well, people do not spare hands, clap louder so that the fluff flies.
Parsley. Ahhh, here I am. We wish you good health, gentlemen. Be healthy, with that day and holiday that is today. (bows quickly and a lot) Well, stop clapping, otherwise my face is reddened from embarrassment.
Musician. And what happened?
Parsley. (To the Musician.) Musician! You know, brother, I want to get married.
Musician. Not a bad thing, but on whom?
Parsley. Oooh! On Praskovya Stepanovna, on a merchant's daughter.
Musician. Do you take a lot of dowry?
Parsley. Forty-four thousand pancakes, a barrel of water, a wardrobe from the floor of a dress and one boot.
Musician. The dowry is not bad, and the bride is good?
Parsley. Hey, very good!
Musician. Well, show me.

Parsley. I'll call you now. (Calling.) Paraskovia Stepanovna! Sweetheart, my little angel, flower, come here! (Parascovia walks. At this time, Petrushka meets and presses and kisses and asks tightly to her heart.)
Parsley. (To the Musician.) Musician! Is my bride good?
Musician. Good, good, but a little blind.
Parsley. Not true! What eyelet, what eyebrows, mouth, nose, and what beads.
Musician. So she has a mustache? Why do you need a mustachioed bride.
Parsley. Yes, not antennae, but beads. (while kissing) Eky, you are deaf. And also a musician. Better play us a dance!

Petrushka and the Bride dance and sing:
Penny of the Folklore group "Zhuraveika" - "The month is shining"
Then Petrushka hugs her and escorts her home.

Scene two.
Parsley. Hey musician!
Musician. What?
Parsley. Thank God I got married.
Musician. This is good, the young wife needs to buy a horse.
Parsley. Who?
Musician. At the gypsy.
Parsley. And what is his name?
Musician. Gavrilo.
Parsley. Go call him.
Musician (refuses). Not a great master, you yourself will call.
Parsley. Where does he live?
Musician. On the coal, in the tavern on the right.
Petrushka (calling Gypsy). Hey, Gavrylo, smeared snout, come here!
Gypsy (goes and sings). Ay, my trickle trickle
Ay I took water for seagulls, romals
Ay nane chavalele.
Parsley. I heard that you have a selling horse. Do you want dear? And is she good?
Gypsy. Good, good. Not sopata, not hunchback, running - the earth trembles, but falls - lies for three days.
Parsley. How many do you want?
Gypsy. One hundred thousand.
Parsley. It is expensive.
Gypsy. How much will the pan give?
Parsley. Thousand.
Gypsy. Little, sir, give it.
Parsley. Musician!
Musician. What?
Parsley. How much should I give him for a horse?
Musician. Yes, five thousand.
Parsley. Ten thousand, ladies.
Gypsy. Come on, sir, a deposit.
Parsley. Bring the horse.
Gypsy. I won't give the horse back without a deposit. Goodbye, sir.
Parsley. Wait, I'll bring the deposit now. I’ll borrow a loan from my sister.
Gypsy. And who is she.?
Parsley. The girl is young. Skalochka Drakulovna Kolotushkina. Here she will kiss you ...
Parsley takes out a deposit in return good stick and begins to give a deposit.
Parsley. Here's a ruble for you, here's two for you!
Gypsy. Ah ah ah! Where are the doors! Ah ah ah!
Parsley. A little expensive ... Get a curly stick and a humped club on your neck and back.
Gypsy. Add, Parsley, to the kids for bacon ...
Parsley. So this is not enough for you ?.
Petrushka (begins to beat Gypsy). Here's a thousand, here's two! (The gypsy runs away.) Wow! Such a deposit will not be good!
Musician! Give me a horse. Whoa, whoa! Stop, don't kick! Ooh, not a horse, but fire! Stop! You need to count your teeth, how old she is. (Looks into her mouth.) The horse is very young: not a single tooth is still in its mouth!
(Tries to mount the horse) Whoa, whoa, whoa! Turn around, horse, like this. Musician! What a nimble horse! ...
Parsley. Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, Persian, don't kick! Here is a toy for you, here I bought a devil with my own money. (Falls off the horse.) Oh, little head, oh, my Praskovya Stepanovna is gone! Oh, oh, musician! Call the doctor!

Scene three
While riding, the horse drops and hits Petrushka and then runs away. At this time, Petrushka is screaming.

Musician. And here comes the doctor.
Doctor. I am a medical doctor, a German pharmacist. They bring me to me on my feet, and send me on crutches. What are you screaming, screaming here for? Well, get up.
Parsley. I can’t get on my feet. And he lost his head.
Doctor. Let's add a new one. Get up.
Parsley. Oh oh oh, my death has come.
Doctor. And where was she before.
Parsley. In field.
Doctor. And what was she doing there.
Parsley. I dug potatoes. Oh, oh, oh save me, oh it hurts, oh it hurts.
Doctor. Where's your topping up? Here.
Parsley. Higher!
Doctor. Where is "here?
Parsley. Lower it!
Doctor. Where is "here?
Parsley. Higher!
Doctor. The devil will understand you: now higher, now lower, now higher, now lower! Get up and show me!
Parsley. Stand up and show?
Doctor. Yes, show me.
Parsley. But now I’ll show you and explain it. (Petrushka leaves and carries a stick and hits the Doctor, showing him.) Now higher, now lower.
Doctor. Ah ah ah! (runs away
Parsley. A musician, but a musician!
Musician. What?
Parsley. So I showed him and explained it to him. And now I'll sit down and sing a song.
At this time Watchdog runs in, Vanya stops and begins to tease him.

Parsley. Qiu-chiu! , Shavochka- kudlavochka, what a mess you are
Mukhtarka. Woof woof! (Grabs Vanya.)
Parsley (teases for the second time). Qiu-chiu-chiu!
Mukhtarka. Woof woof! (Grabs him.)
Parsley. Mukhtarka grabs Petrushka by the shirt.) Wait, wait, Mukhtarka, you will tear the shirt! Stop, Mukhtarka, it hurts! (The dog rushes at him and grabs him by the nose.) Ay, fathers, intercede! My little head with a cap and a brush will be gone! Ouch! Oh oh!

Ved: Well, guys, did you like my friend Petrushka?
(yes) Guys, did you look closely?
Do you remember what animals Petrushka met today?

You stroke - caresses,
You tease - it bites.
Answer to the riddle: dog
(The student who plays the dog comes out)

I have a big mane
Ears and hooves.
I'll pump that playfully
Who is not afraid.
My fur is smooth
Who am I? ...
Answer to the riddle: horse
(the student who plays the horse comes out)

Ved: Come on, guys, let's play with a horse and a dog.
Tell me, how does the horse talk? No way. Right. The horse does not speak, but only laughs and snorts. And now let's imagine that each of you is an artist of such a fair theater and he needs to portray a horse. Let's laugh and now let's snort. Good.

GAME "Jump-firecrackers"
And now, so that our horse gallops, let's pat ourselves on the knees with our palms. Yes louder, louder, and now quieter, quieter. And now, as I raise my hand up, it means that the horse galloped close and you need to click louder. As I give up my hands, it means that the horse has galloped away. Clatter must be quieter. All clear. And as I clap my hands - the horse stopped. Whoever is left to clap after my clap is inattentive and lost.

Ved: Guys, every character in the theater has his own voice. For example, a cat purrs, a frog croaks. And how oh the voice of the dog. Guys, tell me if we have a good dog or an evil one. And how an angry dog ​​barks. Guys and how a kind little dog barks. Enough, or now all the dogs will come running. Let's give our animals a round of applause.

Ved: Guys, look closely at Petrushka. What animal does he look like? But the riddle will help you.

The master walks around the yard, finds fault with everything,
Double beard, side cap.
Who screams the most
Yes, he does the least of all.
What kind of bird is not afraid of people,
Does not fly high, but sings: "Ko-ko-ko-ko"
It is not for nothing that His name is Petrushka and his voice is as clear as that of a cockerel.
Ved: Guys, do you know that Petrushka has a surname. (no) So here it is full name Pyotr Ivanovich Vksusov, and sometimes he is called Petrushka Samovarov, and when he misbehaves his name is Vanka Rototuy or Vanka Rutyuyu.

Ved: Guys, let's remember what kind of people Petrushka met today. (Bride, Doctor, Gypsy). Let's call them here with applause. These artists are very fond of dancing and playing different games. Let's play with them. I ask everyone to dance.

Game-dance "Like Grandpa Makar"
Children stand in a circle, join hands. In the center is the presenter.The players walk in a circle and chant the words:
Like Uncle Makar
There were ten sons
They drank, they ate
They did this at once.
This way, this way, this way, this way !!!
That's it, that's it!
At last words everyone starts to repeat his gestures. The one who repeated the movements best of all becomes the leader.

Game-dance "There lived a grandmother near the river"
The presenter invites the children to memorize the words of the songs.
Once upon a time there was a grandmother near the river itself. Grandma wanted
swim in the river. I bought soap. I bought a washcloth. Uh, and a song
good, start over!
Then it is proposed to memorize the movements that
in the future, replace the words in the song:
"Grandmother" - we represent with hands,
like a grandmother ties a scarf under her chin,
"River" - waves,
"To swim" - we represent a swimmer,
"Bought" - clap your hands,
"soap" - right hand up,
"Doused" - left hand up,)
"Start over" - spinner with hands in front of the chest
With each repetition of the song, the tempo of the song is faster.

Game-dance. "I have one aunt"
Aunt - let's go forward arms to the sides
We repeat the movements behind the leader. After the verse in the losers mix 2 squares to two, the movements of the verse with a turn to the right and then to the left.
Pens
Legs
Shoulders
Boca
Jumping

V folk art was also known puppet theater: puppet theater(in it, the dolls were controlled with the help of threads), Petrushka theater with glove puppets (the dolls were put on the puppeteer's fingers) and nativity scene(in it, the dolls were motionlessly fixed on 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 (usually from 7 to 20 characters by the number of characters), a barrel organ and small props (sticks or ratchet clubs, rolling pins, etc.). Petrushka's theater did not know the scenery. The puppeteer, accompanied by a musician, usually an organ grinder, walked from yard to yard and gave traditional performances about Petrushka. He could always be seen during folk festivals, at fairs. The main character was Petrushka, after whom the theater is named. This hero was also called Peter Ivanovich Uksusov, Peter 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.

Some satirical scenes were performed at the Petrushka Theater. A.M. Gorky noted that "the invincible puppet hero conquered everyone and everything: priests, the police, the devil and death. He himself remained immortal." 1

This is how D.A. Rovinsky performance of 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 with verses, bursting and nasal in the nose, - the conversation is conducted by means of a typewriter, put to the sky, over the tongue, just like this the same as it is done among the French and Italians. The Gypsy appears, offers Petrushka a horse. There is a bargaining, - the Gypsy speaks without a typewriter, in a bass. After a long re-sale, Petrushka buys a horse; Gypsy leaves. Parsley and lamentations about the untimely death of a good fellow. The Doctor comes:

Where does it hurt?

Here!

And here?

It turns out that Petrushka is in pain. But when the Doctor comes to a tender place, Petrushka jumps up and his dads are in his ear; The Doctor fights back, a scuffle 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 yourself must know where it hurts!

A few more minutes - Kvartalny, or, in a puppet way, "fatal fitzer" appears. Since there is a dead body on the stage, Petrushka is severely interrogated (in treble):

Why did you kill the Doctor?

Answer (in the nose):

Then, that he knows his science poorly - he looks at what the bit is, he does not see, but he also asks him.

Word for word - apparently, Petrushka doesn't like the interrogation of Fatal. He grabs the old stick, and a fight begins, which ends with the destruction and expulsion of Fatal, to the general delight of the audience; this puppet protest against the police usually creates a sensation in the public.

The play seems to have ended; but what to do with Petrushka? And then a wooden Poodle Dog runs into the stage, pasted over the tail and legs with scraps of whipped cotton wool, and begins to bark with all his urine (the bark is attached below from a husky).

Little rabbit-darling, - Petrushka caresses her, - let's go live with me, I will feed you with cat meat.

But Shavochka for no reason at all grab Petrushka by the nose; Parsley aside, she's his hand, he is in the other, she's his nose again; at last Petrushka turns to a shameful flight. That is the end of the comedy. If there are a lot of spectators and Petrushkin's matchmaker, i.e. to the main comedian, will be given vodka, then a special interlude called Petrushka's wedding... There is no plot in it, but a lot of action. The bride Varyushka is brought to Petrushka; he examines her like a horse. Petrushka liked Varyushka a lot, and he can't stand to wait for the wedding, which is why he begins to beg her: "Sacrifice yourself, Varyushka!" Then the final scene takes place, 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 outdoor stage of the booth to lie all sorts of nonsense and invite the audience to a new performance.

In the intervals between the acts of the play, dances of two Arapoks are usually presented, sometimes a whole interlude about a Lady who has been bitten by a snake (Eve?); here, finally, the game of two Pagliacci with balls and a stick is shown. The latter comes out extremely cleverly and amusingly for experienced puppeteers: the doll does not have a body, but only a simple skirt has been forged, to which an empty cardboard head is sewn on top, and from the sides there are also empty hands. Puppeteer sticks a doll in the head forefinger, and in the hands - the first and third fingers; he usually puts a doll on each hand and acts in this way with two dolls at once. With a puppet comedy, there is always a barrel organ, replacing the old classical bagpipes, harp and whistle; At the same time, the organ-grinder serves as a “go-ahead”, that is, enters into conversations with Petrushka, asks him questions and urges him to continue his lies without stopping. "

folklore of Russia

Particularly popular at fairs and festivities enjoyed parsley performances and were a form of urban spectacular folklore.

Petrushka is one of the characters in Russian folk puppet shows. Depicted in a red shirt, canvas pants and a pointed cap with a tassel; Traditionally, Parsley is a glove doll. PETRUSHKA, "the nickname of a booth doll, a Russian jester, a funny man, a wit in a red caftan and a red cap; Petrushka is also called the whole clown, a puppet nativity scene" (V. Dal).

The origin of this doll, which appeared in Russia in the second half of the 19th century, is not reliably clarified. Although in Russia (Encyclopedia Around the World) Petrushkas have been known since the 17th century. Russian puppeteers used marionettes (string puppet theater) and parsley (glove puppets). Until the 19th century, preference was given to Petrushka, by the end of the century - to puppets, as the parsley producers united with organ grinders. The parsley screen consisted of three frames, fastened with staples and tightened with chintz. It was placed directly on the ground and hid the puppeteer. The hurdy-gurdy gathered the audience, and behind the screen, the actor through a squeak (whistle) began to communicate with the public. Later, with laughter and a reprise, he ran out himself, in a red cap and with a long nose. The organ-grinder sometimes became Petrushka's partner: because of the squeak, the speech was not always intelligible, and he repeated Petrushka's phrases, conducted a dialogue. The comedy with Petrushka was played out at fairs and booths. From some memoirs and diaries of the 1840s, it follows that Petrushka had a full name - he was called Peter Ivanovich Uksusov. The famous Russian puppeteer Sergei Obraztsov called Petrushka Pyotr Petrovich Uksusov (the story "Four Brothers") or Vanka Ratatouy. There were main plots: Petrushka's treatment, training in soldier's service, a scene with a bride, buying a horse and testing it. The plots were passed from actor to actor, by word of mouth. Not a single character in the Russian theater has had a popularity equal to Petrushka.

The first puppet shows with the main actor- Parsley appeared in the first half 19th century... On the pages of everyday essays and popular books, his name has been mentioned since the 1840s.

In Russia of the last century, the comedy about Petrushka was unmatched among other types of puppet theater in terms of popularity among the common population in terms of breadth of distribution (from St. Petersburg to Sakhalin and from Arkhangelsk to the North Caucasus), in topicality, acuteness and deadly power of laughter. Petrushka was perceived as the main and almost the only hero of the Russian puppet theater.

The comedy of Petrushka was constantly in the process of development, was replenished with new characters, became more and more relevant and socially saturated.

The Petrushka Theater was created not only under the influence of Russian, Slavic, Western European puppet traditions. He was a kind of folk theater culture, part of the highly developed in Russia (spectacular folklore). Therefore, a lot unites him with folk drama, with performances of far-fetched grandfathers, he called out, with friends' sentences at a wedding, with funny popular prints, with jokes from raeshniks, etc.

The special atmosphere of the city's festive square explains, for example, Petrushka's familiarity, his unbridled gaiety and illegibility in the object of ridicule and shame. After all, Petrushka beats not only class enemies, but everyone in a row - from his own bride to the quarterly, often beats for nothing (arap, a beggar old woman, a German clown, etc.), in the end it hits him too: the dog is merciless pats his nose. The puppeteer, like other participants in the fairground, marketplace fun, is attracted by the very opportunity to ridicule, parody, smother, and the more, louder, more unexpected, sharper, the better. Elements of social protest, satire were very successfully and naturally superimposed on this ancient laughter basis.

Like all folklore amusements, "Petrushka" is stuffed with obscenities and curses. Primordial meaning These elements have been studied quite fully, and how deeply they penetrated into the folk culture of laughter and what place was occupied in it by swearing, verbal obscenity and derogatory, cynical gestures, is fully shown by M.M. Bakhtin.

The performances were shown several times a day in different conditions(at fairs, in front of the entrance to the booth, on the streets of the city, in the suburbs). The "walking" Parsley was the most common use of the doll.

A light screen, dolls, miniature wings and a curtain were specially made for the traveling folklore theater. Petrushka ran across the stage, his gestures and movements created the appearance of a living person.

The comic effect of the episodes was achieved by techniques characteristic of folk laughter culture: fights, beating, obscenities, imaginary deafness of a partner, funny movements and gestures, mimics, funny funerals, etc.

There are conflicting judgments about the reasons for the extraordinary popularity of the theater: topicality, satirical and social orientation, comic character, a simple and understandable game for all segments of the population, the charm of the main character, acting improvisation, freedom of choice of material, sharp language of the doll.

The Petrushka Theater is a kind of folk theater that not only looked, but listened to, so most of the scenes included both movement and conversation in different proportions. In the episodes of bargaining (the scene of buying a horse), treatment, ridicule of the soldier's drill, word and gesture, as a rule, are equivalent, they complement each other, combining visual and auditory perception.

Songs and dances were an integral part of most of the performances of the Petrushka Theater. The heroes of the comedy performed lyric songs, dance songs, couplets of a ditty warehouse, cruel romances, songs of literary origin. They danced Russian, Komarinskaya, trepak, "lady", polka, waltz, etc. Big role in comedy, it was devoted to musical exhibitions. Dances and songs, hurdy-gurdy melodies were not just musical arrangement performance, they are designed to tune the audience in a cheerful, festive mood, create an additional comic effect through a contrasting ratio of melody and action, serve as a characteristic of the characters, diversify those, in other words, together with other poetic and stage techniques, make the performance a lively and vivid spectacle.

Structure theatrical performance determines the relationship between the audience and the actors. Audience orientation has existed and exists in all forms theatrical art, in varying degrees, of course, and in different capacities.

For the Russian "Petrushka", as well as for the folk theater in general, communication with the audience was an indispensable condition and extremely important point performance.

Parsley is a folk festive fun.

Parsley is a manifestation of popular optimism, the mockery of the poor over the power of the haves and the rich.

The Petrushka Theater remained a part of festive entertainment for a long time. As a mass phenomenon of folk fair culture, it ceased to exist at the beginning of the 20th century.