Mystery-Bouffe (Russian: Мистерия-Буфф; Misteriya-Buff) is a socialist dramatic play written by Vladimir Mayakovsky in 1918/1921. Mayakovsky stated in a preface to the 1921 edition that "in the future, all persons performing, presenting, reading or publishing Mystery-Bouffe should change the content, making it contemporary, immediate, up-to-the-minute."[1]
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Mystery-Bouffe | |
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Written by | Vladimir Mayakovsky |
Characters |
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Date premiered | November 18, 1918 (1918-11-18) |
Place premiered | Theatre of Musical Drama Petrograd, Russia |
Original language | Russian |
Setting | The Entire Universe; The Ark; Hell; Paradise; Land of Chaos; The Promised Land |
Si tratta di una parodia del racconto biblico che identifica il diluvio con la Rivoluzione, in cui il Mistero è ciò che la rivoluzione ha di grande e il Buffo è ciò che ha di ridicolo. Il luogo scenico consisteva nel globo terrestre raffigurato da un enorme emisfero blu che occupava tutto il palco sul quale si arrampicavano con fatica gli uomini scappati alle onde: 7 coppie di puri (borghesi) e 7 coppie di impuri (proletari).
It is a parody of the biblical story that identifies the flood with the Revolution, in which the Mystery is what is great about the revolution and the Funny is what is ridiculous about it. The scenic location consisted of the terrestrial globe depicted by an enormous blue hemisphere that occupied the whole stage on which the men escaped from the waves climbed with difficulty: 7 pairs of pure (middle-class) and 7 pairs of impure (proletarians).
The play was written for the anniversary of the 1917 revolution, and was accepted by the Central Bureau to be part of the festivities. The title is likely a reference to the opera buffa/opéra bouffe, comic opera genres popular at the time. This original version was directed and produced by Vsevolod Meyerhold, and the art was done by Kazimir Malevich. The premiere was in the Theatre of Musical Drama on November 7, 1918.
Mayakovsky himself played the role of the "simple man", as well as some bit roles including Methuselah and one of the demons. This version of the play lasted three seasons.
After two years, Mayakovsky reworked the text of his play. This second version premiered in the First Theatre of the RSFSR on May 1, 1921. A printed edition of the second version was released in June of that year. This version of the play lasted about 100 shows.
Mystery-Bouffe | |
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Directed by | David Cherkasskiy |
Written by | Vladimir Mayakovsky (Play) Robert Vikkers[2] (Script) |
Music by | G. Firtich |
Production company | Kievnauchfilm studio[3] |
Release date |
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Running time | 60 minutes |
Country | Ukraine |
A 60-minute animated film adaptation of the play was made in 1969, directed by David Cherkasskiy. It was the first animated feature to be made in Ukraine. The Soviet government banned screenings outside of the Ukrainian SSR.[4] In 2015, the director of the film uploaded it to Youtube.
In 2007, after several decades of the play not being seen anywhere, the Moscow A.R.T.O. theatre put on an updated version of the play which was dubbed "Mystery-Bouffe. The Clean Variant", based on the texts of the first and second versions. It premiered in France on May 1, 2007.[5]
Works by Vladimir Mayakovsky | |
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