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GEORGY TOVSTONOGOV: THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR, 1973 In spite of the assertive support of state socialism, Tovstonogov let artists of the National Theatre, divided by petty rivalries,*°° perceive the horizon of world theatre and “refresh their acting techniques in the atelier of an exceptional director”. He offered such a singular interpretation of the first Russian play ever produced at the National almost a century before®® that it had diverged significantly from its former theatrical tradition. From such memorable shows, as the 1962 production of the Madach Theatre, directed by Géza Partos, or, most importantly, Endre Gellért’s 1951 mise-en-scene in the Chamber Theatre of the National, i.e. in the building of the Magyar Theatre, which was the home of the National in the 1970s. The former production did not, but the latter did serve as an essential benchmark for Tovstonogov’s The Government Inspector.°” DRAMATIC TEXT, DRAMATURGY Focusing on the topicality of past dramatic forms with their “deep and subtle relations” to the present, "" Tovstonogov’s approach to Gogol was determined by an idea of the classic closer to Hans-Robert Jauss than to T. S. Eliot or April, 1973, 13. — Later, Tovstonogov’s Leningrad mises-en-scéne visited Budapest twice: in 1974 (including The Toth Family by Istvan Orkény) and also in 1980 (including Kholstomer: The Story of a Horse, which inspired Laszl6 Marton’s staging at the Vig Theatre in 2003). Cf. Laszlé Szacsvay’s anecdote: “there was a scene where I had to lie down and I was only propped up in the middle. Jänos Rajz pressed my feet against his face on a pillow, holding it tight, but Mr. [Lajos] Basti did not want to hold my head, not even with a pillow. ‘I will not hold a greenhorn college student’s head!’, he said. But I had been the member of the company for three years." László Szacsvay: Nem könnyű halottnak lenni. An interview by Bori Bujdosó, http://www.origo.hu/kultura/20101113-interju-szacsvay-laszloval-a-katonajozsef-szinhaz-szineszevel-a-ciganyok.html (accessed 2 August 2016). Jenő Illés: A revizor, Film Színház Muzsika, Vol. 17, No. 11, 17* March,1973, 4. — Péter Molnar Gal stated that “this guest staging came up to a two-month study trip for the entire company”. Molnar G.: Tovsztonogov, 7. Gogol’s comedy was first produced at the National Theatre in 1874. Endre Gellert’s staging was described as “epochal in theatre history” (Illes: A revizor, 4.) or simply "perfect" (Ottó Major: A revizor, Tükör, Vol. 10, No. 12, 20? March, 1973, 13.), and it became identical with Gogol’s play “in the public’s consciousness”. (Ibid.) Georgij Tovsztonogov: Gondolatok a klasszikusokról, in A rendező hívatása, trans. Zsuzsa Szekeres, Budapest, Szinhäztudomänyi Intezet, 1966, 51. — The Soviet director’s essay surprisingly reminds the reader of Peter Brook’s The Empty Space, and although it was written some six decades ago, it still has some relevance. Tovstonogov declared himself to be “the authorized representative of the audience”, who tries to “watch the events of the play through the eyes of the people in the auditorium” during rehearsals, and to find and exploit the connections between the drama and their lives. (László Dalos quotes the director’s words in Tovsztonogov, Film Színház Muzsika, Vol. 33, No. 22, 3" June, 1989, 24.) — Cf. "A classic is treated like a contemporary play built on the material of history. What is important to us in classical dramas is that they would raise contemporary and topical problems. [...] A classic is classical because, depending on the age and the social conditions, it always tells spectators different things. The task of the theatre is to find what it actually has to say. [...] The theatre 66 a 66 S 668 66 © 670 «137 +
