Play “Growl, China!” Staged by the Chinese Theatre of Working Youth (Vladivostok)

The article examines the specifics of the production of the Chinese Theatre of Working Youth “Growl, China!”. The analysis of this performance is undertaken for the first time and is relevant, as the interaction between Russia and China is reaching a new level, and with the existing historical experience of cultural cooperation it is possible to create a quality base for the effective development of Russian-Chinese relations at the present stage.

The aim of the research was to study and analyze the features of a unique performance staged in 1935 on the stage of the Chinese Theatre of Working Youth in Vladivostok — “Growl, China!” based on the play of the same name by S.M. Tretyakov. In order to achieve the aim the author reveals the content of this revolutionary by its meaning play, writes about its first staging on the stage of the V. Meyerhold Theatre, which attracted attention of directors of other theatre companies to this play, analyses the specificity of the rehearsal period of the Chinese Theatre of Working Youth (CTWY) and reveals the characteristics of the performance itself.

The work applies the complex method, which combined the source study analysis of articles from periodicals and the complex analysis of the performance by outlining the positive and negative moments of the premiere production, which were reported in their articles by journalists of the “Krasnoe Znamya” newspaper.

The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that the article for the first time indicated the names of actors who played on the stage of the Chinese Theatre of Working Youth. The conclusion is made about the undoubtedly important role played by the play “Growl, China!” in the creative work of the theatre and the emerging in the 1930s socio-cultural situation in the Far Eastern region. The author notes that despite the closure of the Chinese theatre in 1938, the arrest of its director and some of the actors, the execution of the play’s author S.M. Tretyakov and V. Meyerhold, the interest in this play in the form in which it was shown in the 1930s can still appear today.

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