Folklore theater is the traditional dramatic art of the people. The types of folk entertainment and play culture are diverse: rituals, round dances, dressing up, clowning, etc.
In the history of folklore theater, it is customary to consider the pre-theater and theatrical stages of folk drama.
Theatrical forms include theatrical elements in calendar and family rites.
In calendar rituals - symbolic figures of Maslenitsa, Mermaid, Kupala, Yarila, Kostroma, etc., playing scenes with them, dressing up. Agrarian magic, magical actions and songs designed to promote the well-being of the family played a prominent role. For example, on the winter Christmastide they pulled a plow around the village, "sowed" grain in the hut, etc. With the loss of magical meaning, the ceremony turned into fun.
The wedding ceremony was also a theatrical game: the distribution of "roles", the sequence of "scenes", the transformation of the singers and lamentations into the protagonist of the ceremony (the bride, her mother). A difficult psychological game was a change in the inner state of the bride, who in her parents' house had to cry and lament, and in her husband's house she had to portray happiness and contentment. However, the wedding ceremony was not perceived by the people as a theatrical performance.
In calendar and family rituals, participants in many scenes were mummers. They dressed up as an old man, an old woman, a man dressed in women's clothes, and a woman in men's clothes, dressed up in animals, especially often in a bear and a goat. The costumes of the mummers, their masks, make-up, as well as the scenes performed by them were passed on from generation to generation. On Christmastide, Shrovetide, Easter, mummers performed humorous and satirical scenes. Some of them later joined folk dramas.
In addition to ceremonies, theatrical elements accompanied the performance of many folklore genres: fairy tales, round dance and comic songs, etc. An important role here was played by facial expressions, gesture, movement - close to theatrical gesture and movement. For example, the storyteller did not just tell a fairy tale, but to one degree or another played it out: he changed his voice, gestured, changed his face, showed how the hero of the fairy tale walked, carried a bucket or sack, etc. In fact, it was the play of one actor.
The theatrical forms of folk drama proper are a later stage in stages, the beginning of which the researchers attribute to the 17th century.
However, long before this time in Russia there were comedians, musicians, singers, dancers, trainers. These are buffoons. They united in roving groups and until the middle of the 17th century. took part in folk rituals and holidays. Proverbs about the art of buffoons (Everyone will dance, but not like a buffoon), songs and epics ("Vavilo and Buffoons", "Guest Terentishche"). Their work was reflected in fairy tales, epics, in various forms of folk theater. In the XVII century. buffoonery was prohibited by special decrees. For some time the buffoons took refuge on the outskirts of Russia.
Specific features of folklore theater are the absence of a stage, the separation of performers and audience, action as a form of displaying reality, the transformation of the performer into another objectified image, the aesthetic orientation of the performance. Plays were often distributed in writing, pre-rehearsed, which did not exclude improvisation.
Cities played an important role in the origin, functioning and spread of all forms and types of folklore theater. In cities, fairs were a favorite time and place of folk spectacular performances, which attracted many people, including villagers. They not only traded, but also had fun.
BALAGAN
Booths were built during fairs. Balagans are temporary structures for theatrical, variety or circus performances. They have been known in Russia since the middle of the 18th century. Booths were usually located in market squares, near places of city festivities. They included magicians, strongmen, dancers, gymnasts, puppeteers, folk choirs; small plays were staged. A balcony (raus) was built in front of the booth, from which the artists (usually two) or the grandfather called the audience to the performance. Grandfathers-barkers have developed their own way of dressing, addressing the audience.
The performances in 1881 of one of the talented fairground actors of the Volga region, the owner of a booth called "Theater of Spiritualism and Magic", Ya-I. Mamonov (1851-1907) was described by F. I. Shalyapin.
“The first theatrical burns I got in the hard Christmas frosts when I was about eight years old. In the Christmas booth, I first saw then the fairground actor Yakov Ivanovich Mamonov - known at that time on the Volga under the name Yashki as a fairground couplet and clown.
Yashka had a wonderful appearance, ideally in harmony with his role. Although he was not old, he was baggy and fat in an old man's way. this gave him impressiveness. A thick black mustache, tough as steel dratva, and ridiculously angry eyes complemented the image, created in order to instill a superstitious creep in toddlers. But the fear of Yashka was special - sweet. Yashka frightened, but also irresistibly attracted to himself. Everything about him was wonderful: a thunderous, rough, hoarse voice, a dashing gesture and the cheerful swagger of his ridicule and mockery of the open-mouthed audience.
Hey, you sisters, pack your rags, and you empty heads, go for syudy! - he shouted to the crowd from the plank balcony of his plank and canvas-covered booth.
The audience really liked these clownery, tomfoolery and heavy jokes. Each attack by Yashka caused a loud, rolling laugh. Seemed Yashkins impromptu and bold.
Pushing forward to the public, for show, his actors - his wife, son and comrades, Yashka raised a funny stuffed animal and yelled: - Hey, stay away, on the ground - we're taking the Governor ...
For hours on end, in the cold, Yashka amused the undemanding crowd and revived the square with bursts of laughter. As if spellbound, I watched Yashkin's acting. For hours I stood in front of the booth, trembling to the bone from the cold, but I could not tear myself away from the delightful sight. In the cold, steam sometimes poured from Yashka, and then he seemed to me a completely wonderful creature, a wizard and a sorcerer.
With what impatience and thirst I waited every morning for the opening of the booth! With what adoration I looked at my idol. But how surprised I was when, after all his intricate antics, I saw him in the "Palermo" tavern, serious, very serious and even sad over a couple of beer and over salted black bread crumbs. It was strange to see this inexhaustible merry fellow and joker sad. I did not know even then what is sometimes hidden behind the stage fun ...
Yashka was the first in my life to amaze me with his amazing presence of mind. He did not hesitate to grimace in front of the crowd, to break the fool, dressing up in a cap. I thought: "How is it possible, without any difficulty, without hesitation, to speak so fluently, as if in poetry?" I was also sure that everyone is very afraid of Yashka - even the police! After all, he is pulling the governor himself.
And I was freezing with him in the square, and I felt sad when the day drew to a close and the performance ended. "
2. THEATER OF MOVING PICTURES (RAYOK)
Rajok is a type of presentation at fairs, widespread mainly in Russia in the 18th-19th centuries. It got its name from the content of pictures on biblical and gospel themes (Adam and Eve in Paradise, etc.).
D. A. Rovinsky, a well-known collector and researcher of Russian folk pictures (lubka), described the paradise as follows: home-grown images of different cities, great people and events. Spectators, "a penny from the snout", look into the glass, - the worker moves the pictures and tells the sayings to each new number, often very intricate.<...>At the end, there is a show and an ultra-fast hit<...>which are already completely unsuitable for printing. "
During folk festivals, a raeshnik with his box was usually located on the square next to booths, carousels. The "grandfather-raeshnik" himself - "according to the grip of a retired soldier, experienced, dexterous and quick-witted. He wears a gray caftan trimmed with red or yellow braid with bunches of colored rags on his shoulders, a bell-hat, also decorated with bright rags. He has bast shoes on his feet. with a linen beard tied to his chin. "
The explanations and jokes of the raeshniks were divided into lines, with rhyme (usually paired) at the end of the lines. There was no regularity in the number and arrangement of syllables. For instance: "But the andermanir pieces are a different kind, the city of Palerma is standing, the lordly surname walks along the streets and endows the Talyan with money. give "(see in the Reader). This folk verse was called "raeshny". It was also used in the jokes of farfathers, in folk dramas, and so on.
Folklore theater is diverse. This type of folk art includes the performances of buffoons, the Petrushka puppet theater, booths, paradise, a nativity scene, and, finally, folk drama.
The origins of Russian folklore theater go back to deep antiquity, to ancient Slavic holidays and rituals. Their elements were dressing up, singing, playing musical instruments, dancing, etc. In ceremonies and rituals, they were combined in a certain sequence into a single action, a spectacle.
Buffoons are considered the first actors in Russia. They were often called "amusers" because they entertained the people with their jokes and funny satirical scenes. The first mentions of buffoons are found in the "Tale of Bygone Years".
The buffoons were divided into sedentary and passers-by (stray), there were lone buffoons, puppeteer buffoons, buffoons with a bear, etc. Groups of wandering buffoons carried folk art across the country, sang mischievous songs, acted out "unbelievable", performed "buffoonery". In the repertoire of some of them were also epics.
The most famous plots of "unbelievable" that have come down to our days: a man and a gentleman, a man and a clergyman, a cunning old man who pretends to be deaf, but hears everything, etc.
The buffoons showed the audience at the fairs "Bear Comedy" with the participation of a real bear. A respectful attitude towards this beast originated in pagan times. The bear was considered the progenitor, a symbol of health, strength, fertility, and prosperity. The "Bear Comedy" usually consisted of 3 parts: a dance of a bear with a goat, which was portrayed by a boy holding a goat's head with horns on a stick, then followed by a dance of a bear with his guide and, finally, a fight between a bear and a buffoon.
The buffoons expressed the thoughts and feelings of the people, ridiculed the boyars and priests, glorified the strength and daring of the heroes, the defenders of the Russian land.
The authorities treated the buffoons as destroyers of social foundations, rioters. In 1648. a royal decree was issued prohibiting buffoons. However, neither the authorities nor the church managed to eradicate the art of buffoons. After that, the buffoons did not dare to speak in the monastery villages, but, contrary to the decree, they continued to be invited to perform at boyar feasts and other amusements.
The appearance of puppet theater. The first puppet shows were staged by puppet buffoons. Gradually, the main character of these performances was determined - the mischievous and cheerful Petrushka. He often filled in the pauses between various theatrical performances. He was a beloved hero of both buffoons and the audience, a daring daredevil and a badass who retains a sense of humor and optimism in any situation. The big-nosed merry fellow always deceived the rich and the authorities. As an exponent of social protest, he invariably enjoyed the support and love of the audience.
In the comedies about Petrushka, two heroes constantly acted (according to the number of puppeteer hands) - Petrushka and the policeman, Petrushka and the doctor, etc. The plots were the most common, life-like: Petrushka gets married, buys a horse from a gypsy, argues with a policeman, etc. However, Petrushka is invariably a participant in a conflict situation, which he himself often provokes.
A cheerful, desperate folk hero with a sharp tongue and a club always mends judgment and reprisals against hostile forces (often it was a priest who deceived the people, a healer who treated poorly, a Tatar - the memory of the Tatar invasion, a policeman, a deceiver, etc.). But Petrushka also gets it: at the end of the performance, either the devil or the policeman appears, sometimes even death itself, but he also successfully fights against them.
The comedy about Petrushka remains a monument to oral folk drama, although it never had a permanent text and was used in many versions and improvisations.
Parsley outlived its buffoon creators. This is a generalized symbolic image, the invincible hero of the folk comedy.
In addition to the Petrushka theater in Russia, especially in its southern regions, nativity scene- a special portable wooden box in which dolls made of wood or other materials could move.
The stage mirror, open to the public, was usually divided into 2 floors: on top, on the lid, a miniature bell tower was erected; a candle was placed on it behind the glass, which burned during the performance, giving the action a magical and mysterious character.
The doll was attached to a rod, the lower part of which was held by the puppeteer, hidden behind a box. On the top floor of the den, biblical plots were usually played out, on the lower floor, everyday, most often comedic ones.
With the help of dolls depicting various biblical characters, scenes of the Nativity of Jesus Christ were played out, which, according to the Gospel, took place in a cave (which means "nativity scene" in translation). One of the popular nativity scenes was "Tsar Herod", the plot of which reflected the Gospel legend about the extermination of babies by Tsar Herod and about the punishment that overtook him for this atrocity.
With the development of trade in Russia, the growth of cities and the popularity of Russian fairs, fair shows are gaining strength. One of the most common of these was paradise. It existed until the end of the 19th century. and was an indispensable part of festive folk amusements.
Art historian D.A. Ravinsky, in his book “Russian Folk Pictures,” describes it as follows: “Raek is a small box with two magnifying glasses in front of it, stretching in all directions. Inside it is rewound from one skating rink to another a long strip of home-grown
depicting different cities, great people and events. The spectators look through the glass. Raeshnik moves the pictures and tells stories about each new number, often very intricate. "
Rajok was very popular among the people. Raeshnik not only showed pictures, but also commented on the events depicted there, sometimes criticizing the authorities and the established order, in a word, touched upon burning problems.
The basis of the district was popular prints, which made up a kind of folk library. At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century, pictures were bought up by the common people, they decorated the walls in the hut. In the evenings, the illiterate gathered to look at them, and the literate read the signatures and interpret them.
The Raeshniki turned these pictures into a "funny panorama", added a game with the viewer to this, and it turned out to be an entertaining action.
The most important thing in the view was that it included three types of exposure to the audience, image, word and game.
"Amusing panoramas" responded to various events within Russia and abroad. The Raeshniks enlightened the visitors of the fair in their own way, broadened their horizons, but they did it by engaging and amusing the audience. With their jokes, they revived pictures, popular prints lost their static character. Raeshnik's explanations made them topical, reflecting the present day.
Rajok went down in the history of folklore theater as one of the brightest, original phenomena of folk art culture
Along with the district committee, it is gaining wide popularity booth. In the 18th century, not a single fair was complete without booths. They were built right on the square from boards and linen.
Inside there was a stage, curtain and benches for spectators.
Outside, the booth was decorated with garlands, signs, and when gas lighting appeared - with multi-colored bulbs.
The booth troupe, as a rule, consisted of itinerant actors. They gave several performances a day. These were mainly sideshows, magic tricks, clownery. Singers, dancers and simply "outlandish people" performed here.
Folk dramas were put on holidays in villages and cities. These were original performances on historical, everyday, religious themes and plots. They were usually played in a hut, in spacious sheds or in the open air. Their texts, which are usually referred to as works of oral folk art, were created by unknown authors. These texts, like all other elements of the performances, were varied by performers from the common people - peasants, artisans, and others.
The texts of such folk dramas as "Boat", "Tsar Maximilian" and others have survived to this day.
Along with the Russian folklore theater, there were performances that were close to it in form, which were staged on church holidays in Orthodox churches. They got the name liturgical events. The flourishing of liturgical acts dates back to the 16th century.
Plots of several liturgical acts have survived to this day. "Walking on the Donkeys" or "Flower Bearing Action" was performed on Palm Sunday in spring and illustrated the Gospel story about the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.
The action "Washing the feet" took place on Holy Week, before Easter. It reproduced the main episodes of the Last Supper.
The greatest theatricality was the "Stove (cave) action". It was a dramatization of the biblical tradition of three pious youths who uphold the true faith. The pagans want to put them on fire for refusing to worship idols. However, the Angel of the Lord sets free the righteous.
Literature
Aseev B.N., Russian Drama Theater (from its origins to the end of the 20th century). M., 1977.
Gusev V.E. The origins of the Russian folk theater. L., 1977.
Gusev V.E. Russian folk theater XU111 - early XX centuries. L., 1980.
Dmitriev Yu.A., Khaichenko G.A. History of Russian theater. М „1986.
Dmitriev Yu.A. At the old Moscow festivities / Theatrical almanac of the WTO. Book. 6.M., 1947.
Ivleva L.M. Costumes in Russian traditional culture. SPb., 1994.
The origins of the Russian theater. M., 1976. Russian folk drama XU11 - XX centuries. M., 1953.
Savushkina N.I. Russian folk theater. M., 1976.
Folklore theater. M., 1988.
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The folk theater is a phenomenon of spontaneous folk art. In their unbridled performances, not constrained by any framework, the actors interactively, together with the audience, called out, the raeshniki played a real extravaganza.
Hurry up! People's theater!
A booth, a nativity scene, a raik, Petrushka - everything that a Russian man is happy with
Here it is - a noisy, colorful fair! It is also a large scene of folk amusements, a scene that does not know the spatial boundaries of the actor-spectator, the scene on which the action unfolds, not subject to the intention of any director. And what, who only on it, happened, you will not see! Buffoons, clowns, puppeteers, leaders of bears, booth "grandfathers" - barkers, a paradise theater with outlandish city-countries, the tyrant Tsar Maximilian - the hero of folk dramas - right there, interspersed with an enchanted people, not compressed three-dimensional image, surround sound, not swallowed by huge screens - standards of modern leisure.
"Hey you sisters, collect your rags!"
Yes, "come here", where shows and games - folklore theater in all its glory and eccentricity! Here is the continuity of the traditional, once obligatory ritual dressing on Christmastide, Maslenitsa, Trinity, Kostroma, Ivan Kupala, here and biblical motives, spiritual verses, melodies of lyric songs, here and the influence of popular prints, foreign wanderers-artists, and later works of fiction, and professional stage performances. Here is a theatrical performance that has absorbed the history and culture of the country from time immemorial pagan times, when they dressed up, acted, thereby performing a magical ritual aimed at ensuring the productive forces of the earth and man. Having lost its magical producing meaning, the rite did not disappear, but became a game, fun, the basis for a folk theater, which continued to absorb and rethink historical processes, be it the reforms of Peter I, the educational activities of Catherine II, the democratic moods of the 19th century, which determined the cultural image of tsarist Russia. Everything and everyone got to the fairground, displayed in a kaleidoscope of fun, altered what was learned by folklore tradition and imprinted with verses of paradise, shouts of booths, barkers, biblical scenes from the den, biting jokes of Petrushka, replicas from folk dramas. 
"Eh-va, there are so many booths built for your pockets ..."
With these words, the bearded one came out and called out to the raus - the balcony, built in front of the booth, came out in a red red shirt, in winter in a sheepskin coat. He went out to call the audience, scurrying past the booth or staring at a motley painted booth poster. And in that poster there are magicians, strongmen, dancers, gymnasts, puppeteers, folk choirs, plays! Fair booths - only temporary structures for theatrical, variety, circus performances - literally attracted everyone who found themselves on the market square. First of all, they attracted and at the same time frightened the farcical "grandfathers" - the barkers, the cries, whose loud and caustic exclamations, from which "the bellies burst", mesmerized, fascinated from young to old. “And here's what, gentlemen, I’ll say: gingerbread and tossing nuts is a great sin. Better rest and give me six kopecks! ” 
"Look at the Turkish battle where aunt Natalya is fighting ..."
So the grandfather-raeshnik voiced during the festivities, standing not far from the booths and the merry-go-round with a small box in his hands. This box is a paradise - a theater of traveling pictures. Two magnifying glasses are mounted in the box in front, and inside a long strip of homegrown images of various cities, outstanding personalities, great events, and, at first, biblical stories about Adam and Eve (hence the name of paradise - paradise) is rewound from one skating rink to another. The task of the raeshnik is to move the pictures for the amusement of the viewers who have paid "a penny from the snout", and to accompany each new image with intricate commentaries, the so-called raeshnye verses. “But look, gentlemen, the battle of Sedan: the Germans beat the French and take Napoleon prisoner. The French put down their guns and sabers and asked for a pardon. "
"Traded in stone, wind, brick and was left with nothing ..."
Petrushka is shouting, he is also Pyotr Ivanovich Uksusov, he is Pyotr Petrovich Samovarov, he is Vanka Retatui - the hero of the folk puppet theater, the hero-reasoner, the hero-winner in a red shirt, a cap with bells, in smart boots. A hero with a large hook nose, a laughing mouth, a protruding chin, a hump or even two humps, on the back and on the chest. The hero is a doll without a body, with a skirt sewn on from the bottom, with a cardboard head and hands into which the puppeteer inserts the index, thumb and middle fingers. The puppeteer, the soul of Petrushka, who was always with the bear leader, tied a woman's skirt with a plug-in hoop around the waist, lifted it up so that the skirt covered it with his head like a curtain, and the puppeteer himself could calmly move his hands behind her, put the dolls up and play comedies in which Petrushka invariably denounced and defeated everyone and everything: priests, police, merchants, landowners and even the devil and death, while remaining unharmed. 
"Dear musicians, play us dances!"
You can hear Arisha, a minor character in the nativity scene “Tsar Herod”, play out in the lower tier of the nativity scene - a portable box, often in the form of a house, a church, an iconostasis, divided into two floors. In the upper part, "heavenly", pasted over from the inside with blue paper, decorated with images of scenes of Nativity on the back wall, dramas of religious content were played out. And in the lower part, "earthly", decorated with bright paper or foil, with a throne installed in the middle of the stage, in contrast to the upper one, everyday scenes and sketches were unfolding that denounced, ridiculed topical, pressing problems.
In the bottom of the box and in the shelf dividing the box into two parts, there were slots along which the puppeteer could move the rods, unnoticed by the public, on which fixed dolls were attached - characters of crib dramas - dolls made of wood or clay, decorated and dressed in paper or cloth clothing. It was possible to move rods with dolls along the box, dolls could turn from side to side, enter and exit the stage through doors, special slots made to the right and left in both tiers.
"Hey there! Wipe your drunken eyes! You will see Tsar Maximilian! "
"Imaginary master", "Boat", "Tsar Maximilian", "Mavrukh" - the repertoire of the folk drama is not so great, but very diverse, which is due to the variability of performance, transformation of plots, combining several plots into one, inclusion in one or another play excerpts from literary works, song folklore, historical legends. But even this is not the whole feature of folk dramatic art, which does not know the concept of a scene, played out by craftsmen folk in any hut or booth during the festive time, played out without decorations, props, wings, with minimal props, or even without it at all. The folk theater, conditional from and to, not knowing the laws of the unity of time and place, presupposes active participation, co-creation of performers lined up in a semicircle, and spectators standing right there, in the immediate vicinity of the theatrical action taking place. Dynamism, the absence of verbal pauses and delays in actions, vivid self-characteristics of the characters, addressed to the audience, helped to recreate the place, time, conditions of events, thereby enchanting, not giving in to doubt everything that was happening. 
The proscenium, proscenium, stage, backstage, scenery, through the prism of which we see theatrical art today, make us and our world even more conventional, despite such vain attempts to overcome the gravitating convention of time, place, action and perception. To hear Petrushka's insolence, shouts, jokes, he called merchants, to look into a paradise or a nativity scene, you yourself need to be on the stage, a large stage-fair, a shopping area, and not in the auditorium, you yourself need to become the invincible Peter Samovarov, the fearless "grandfather" on rause in front of the booth: “And now let me give you the lowest respect, thank you for your visit. Come back another time, respect and let us tell you one thing, that in the old days, not only gol and bar, but also the very first boyars amused themselves with this joke!
FOLK THEATER- Theater, created directly by the people themselves, existing among the broad masses in forms organically associated with oral folk art. In the process of historical. development of the arts. the culture of the people is the fundamental principle, which gives rise to the entire subsequent history of prof. theatre. Isk-va, is a plank bed. theatre. creation.
Folklore theater is the traditional dramatic art of the people. The types of folk entertainment and play culture are diverse: rituals, round dances, dressing up, clowning, etc. In the history of folklore theater, it is customary to consider the pre-theatrical and stately stages of folk dramatic creativity. Theatrical forms include theatrical elements in calendar and family rites. In calendar rituals - symbolic figures of Maslenitsa, Mermaid, Kupala, Yarila, Kostroma, etc., playing scenes with them, dressing up. Agrarian magic, magical actions and songs designed to promote the well-being of the family played a prominent role. For example, for the winter Christmastide they pulled a plow around the village, "sowed" grain in the hut, etc. With the loss of magical meaning, the rite turned into fun. The wedding ceremony also represented; a theatrical play: the order of "roles", the sequence of "scenes", the reincarnation of the performers of songs and lamentations into the protagonist of the ceremony (the bride, her mother). A difficult psychological game was a change in the inner state of the bride, who in the house of her parents had to cry and lament, and in the house of her husband meant happiness and contentment. However, the wedding ceremony was not perceived by the people as a theatrical performance. In calendar and family rituals, participants in many scenes were mummers. They dressed up as an old man, an old woman, a man dressed in women's clothes, and a woman in men's clothes, dressed up in animals, especially often in a bear and a goat. The costumes of the mummers, their masks, make-up, as well as the scenes performed by them were passed on from generation to generation. On Christmastide, Shrovetide, Easter, mummers performed humorous and satirical scenes. Some of them later joined folk dramas.
Booth- a temporary wooden building for theatrical and circus performances, which has become widespread at fairs and festivities. Often also a temporary light building for trade at fairs, to accommodate workers in the summer. In a figurative sense - actions, phenomena similar to a farcical representation (buffoonery, rude). Balagans have been known since the 18th century.
Nativity scene- folk puppet theater, which is a two-story wooden box, reminiscent of a stage. The nativity scene entered Russia in the late 17th - early 18th centuries from Poland through Ukraine and Belarus. The name is associated with the original depictions of scenes of the life of Jesus Christ in a cave, where he was sheltered from King Herod.
For Ukrainians, Belarusians and Russians, the performance was divided into two parts: religious and everyday. Over time, the religious part was reduced and acquired a local flavor, and the repertoire expanded and the nativity scene turned into a folk theater.
Unlike the “Petrushka Theater”, the puppets are controlled from below.
The vertep theater was a large box, inside of which there was a stage, usually two-tier. On the upper stage, worship of the newborn baby Jesus was shown, on the lower stage, episodes with Herod, after whose death the everyday part of the performance followed. Wooden dolls were attached from below to a wire, with the help of which the clerk moved them along the slots in the floor. The main decoration on the stage is a nursery with a baby. At the back wall were the figures of the righteous Joseph with a long beard and the holy Virgin Mary. Scenes with the birth of Christ were traditionally played out in the upper tier. The owner of the den himself usually pronounced the text in different voices and led the puppets. The choir boys sang Christmas carols. And if a musician was present, he accompanied the singing and dancing with music. The puppeteers and accompanying musicians and the choir walked from house to house, or staged performances in public gathering places - in shopping areas.
In fact, it was a 1x1.5m two-tier box, dolls were moving on the tiers.
Theater of Petrushka- The screen of parsley consisted of three frames, fastened with staples and tightened with chintz. It was placed directly on the ground and hid the puppeteer. The barrel organ gathered the audience, and behind the screen the actor began to communicate with the audience through a squeak (whistle). 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.
In Russia, only men took Petrushka. To make the voice louder and squeakier (this was necessary both for audibility at fair performances and for the special character of the character), a special squeak was used, inserted into the larynx. Petrushka's speech was supposed to be "shrill" and very fast.
Unlike Vertep, the screen is not a box, but a window with "curtains". And the person who controlled the puppet in the Petrushka theater could show himself to the public and talk to his own puppet.
Rajok- a folk theater, consisting of a small box with two magnifying glasses in front. Inside it, pictures are rearranged or a paper strip with home-grown images of different cities, great people and events is rewound from one skating rink to another. Raeshnik moves pictures and tells sayings and jokes for each new plot.
The highest manifestation of folk theater is folk drama. The first folk dramas were created in the 16th – 17th centuries. Their formation proceeded from simple forms to more complex ones. The most famous and widespread folk dramas were The Boat and Tsar Maximilian. Folk everyday satirical dramas ("The Barin", "The Imaginary Master", "Mavrukh", "Pakhomushka", etc.), adjoining the Christmastide and Maslenitsa games, were also played. They are based on dramatic sketches that were performed by mummers.
Some of the folk dramas were historical in nature. One of them - "How the Frenchman took Moscow."