Die Selbstmörder - Revision history

Temple at 10:33, 4 February 2026

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Sources

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The original text

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The original text

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The original text

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The original text

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The original text

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Performance history in South Africa

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Sources

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 A satire about a young, unemployed man desperate enough to contemplate ending it all, and is besieged by spokespeople of discontented groups of society, from butchers to intellectuals, who want him to turn his suicide into a gesture on their behalf. The play forms a link in Russian literary history between the satirical mastery of Nikolai Gogol and the post-World War II Theatre of the Absurd.
-Originally written in 1928, it was advertised for production by Meyerhold at the Wachtangow Theatre in Moscow, but was banned by the Soviet government and remained unproduced in Russia until 1990.
+Originally written in 1928 under the title ''[[Самоубийца]]'', it was advertised for production by Meyerhold at the Wachtangow Theatre in Moscow, but was banned by the Soviet government and remained unproduced in Russia until 1990.
 Originally planned for production by Meyerhold at the Wachtangow Theatre in Moscow, in 1929, under the direction of Meyerhold, the play was but censorship prevented it from happening.  In 1990 Sergey Zhenovach finally directed the original Russian text at The Theatre Art Studio in Moscow.

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:32, 4 February 2026
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	''[[Die Selbstmörder]]'' ("The Suicide") is the German title of a 1928 play by Soviet dramatist and screenwriter [[Nikolai R. Erdman]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Erdman] (1900-1970).		''[[Die Selbstmörder]]'' ("The Suicide") is the German title of a 1928 play by Soviet dramatist and screenwriter [[Nikolai R. Erdman]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Erdman] (1900-1970).
		+
		+	Originally written in Russian and called ''[[Самоубийца]]''

	== The original text ==		== The original text ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:28, 4 February 2026
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	https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1703038/		https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1703038/
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		+	https://www.concordtheatricals.co.uk/p/2279/the-suicide-erdmantegel

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 == The original text ==
-A comedy about a young, unemployed man desperate enough to contemplate ending it all, the play forms a link in Russian literary history between the satirical mastery of Nikolai Gogol and the post-World War II Theatre of the Absurd.
+A satire about a young, unemployed man desperate enough to contemplate ending it all, and is besieged by spokespeople of discontented groups of society, from butchers to intellectuals, who want him to turn his suicide into a gesture on their behalf. The play forms a link in Russian literary history between the satirical mastery of Nikolai Gogol and the post-World War II Theatre of the Absurd.
 Originally written in 1928, it was advertised for production by Meyerhold at the Wachtangow Theatre in Moscow, but was banned by the Soviet government and remained unproduced in Russia until 1990.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 == The original text ==
-A comedy about a young, unemployed man desperate enough to contemplate ending it all.
+A comedy about a young, unemployed man desperate enough to contemplate ending it all, the play forms a link in Russian literary history between the satirical mastery of Nikolai Gogol and the post-World War II Theatre of the Absurd.
-Written in 1928, staging of Nikolai Erdman's banned Soviet-era
+Originally written in 1928, it was advertised for production by Meyerhold at the Wachtangow Theatre in Moscow, but was banned by the Soviet government and remained unproduced in Russia until 1990.
-This production was captured by Stage Russia HD
+Originally planned for production by Meyerhold at the Wachtangow Theatre in Moscow, in 1929, under the direction of Meyerhold, the play was but censorship prevented it from happening.  In 1990 Sergey Zhenovach finally directed the original Russian text at The Theatre Art Studio in Moscow.
-Sergey Zhenovach directed the original Russian text at The Theatre Art Studio in  the Russian text was shcheduled for performance in the Wachtangow Theatre in Moscow, under the direction of Meyerhold, but censorship prevented it from happening.
+The play actually had its first premiere in the German version, performed in Göteborg, Sweden, in 1969, followed by a production in Switzerland.
 ==Translations and adaptations==

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 == Performance history in South Africa ==
-: The first production of the play outside Europe was done by [[CAPAB]] (In [[Afrikaans]] as   ''[[Die Selfmoordenaar]]'') at the [[Nico Malan Theatre]] opening 11 May 1973, directed by [[Pieter Fourie]] with [[Johan Malherbe]] as Semjon, also starring [[Sandra Kotzé]], [[Nerina Ferreira]], [[Louw Verwey]], [[Marie Pentz]], [[Schalk Jacobsz]], [[Cobus Rossouw]], [[Jan Prinsloo]], [[Johann Botha]], [[Mees Xteen]], [[Joan Brink]] and [[Roberta Durrant]]. Decor by [[Raimond Schoop]], costumes by [[Jenny de Swardt]], stage manager [[Mavis Lilenstein]]. This production opened at the [[H.B. Thom Theatre]] on 7 June 1973.
+: The first production of the play outside Europe was done by [[CAPAB]] (In [[Afrikaans]] as   ''[[Die Selfmoordenaar]]'') at the [[Nico Malan Theatre]] from 11 May to 2 June 1973, directed by [[Pieter Fourie]] with [[Johan Malherbe]] as Semjon, also starring [[Sandra Kotzé]], [[Nerina Ferreira]], [[Louw Verwey]], [[Marie Pentz]], [[Schalk Jacobsz]], [[Cobus Rossouw]], [[Jan Prinsloo]], [[Johann Botha]], [[Mees Xteen]], [[Joan Brink]] and [[Roberta Durrant]]. Decor by [[Raimond Schoop]], costumes by [[Jenny de Swardt]], stage manager [[Mavis Lilenstein]]. This production played at the [[H.B. Thom Theatre]] in Stellenbosch 7-9 June 1973, .
 == Sources ==

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 == Sources ==
-''[[Die Selfmoordenaar]]'' theatre programme, [[CAPAB]], 1973.
+''[[Die Selfmoordenaar]]'' theatre programme, [[CAPAB]], 1973. (Copy in the [[PARC]] research collection, [[Africa Open Institute]], Stellenbosch)
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Suicide_(play).