Nikolai Evreinov: Approaches to Theatre Ontology

Nikolai Evreinov (1878–1953) is known as a theorist, director, and playwright. His legacy is usually considered in the light of ‘theatrical anthropology’ — the discipline on the human nature in the performing arts. However, in his later works such as The Theatre and the Scaffold (1918) and Theatre Therapy (1920), Evreinov himself greatly expanded the boundaries of the application of his models. Moreover, the very idea of ‘theatricalization of life’ hints at the fact that it refers not only to man but also to a certain understanding of the world, that is, ontology. Although it cannot be claimed that Evreinov put forward a complete model, his quest is worth considering, as it helps to re-ask the question of what theatre science, its subject and meaning are. In this study, the key problems of Nikolai Evreinov’s artistic practice and theoretical works are considered in the wide context of modern theatre studies.