Зинаида Гиппиус о Чехове-драматурге

Abstract

Zinaida Gippius about Checkov as a playwright

Z. Gippius pays more attention to the dramaturgy of Checkov of the Artistic Theatre than other playwrights or theatres. The ideal theatre for Z. Gippius is not the theatre of remembrances, of the present, but the theatre of the future, of tommorow. In her opinion, a play can attain success only when in harmony there are: the play, its stage director and, naturally, the audience. In the theatrical performances of modern theatres of that time, including Checkov’s, Gippius saw “a pessimistic look to life”, human nature, disbelief, sorrow. Checkov is for her the prophet of life denial, the prophet of nonexistence, the prophet of cooling of the heart to all living, but she needed “flaming verbs” of love and hatred. However, she does not find them in Checkov’s dramaturgy.