Abstract: The proposed article examines the current state of Chekhov's plays in theatrical productions in connection with a provocative essay by the English theater critic John Friedman. The aim of the study is to study the problem of the current state of Chekhov's plays in the modern theater and to refute the judgments proposed by D. Friedman about the need to stop Chekhov's productions due to the loss of the original meaning of the plays. In the course of the work, the main provisions of the English critic concerning the playwriting of A.P. Chekhov and the place of the Russian playwright in the modern theater and world literature are examined, and the controversy that arose in Chekhovsky Vestnik in response to an essay among literary critics, theater critics, directors and students. The basis of our research is based on such literary methods as: comparative, analytical, critical, typological, historical and functional. The ambiguity of interpretations of Chekhov's plays has long been a concern for Chekhovs, and the novelty of our research is that this work contributes to the broadening of views on this problem and contributes to the study of today's attitude to Chekhov's plays and the semantic content of his drama. In addition, the point of view of the English critic and the controversy of Chekhov's experts on the work did not previously become independent objects of study. As a result of the work, a conclusion was proposed on the undying interest in Chekhov's plays, the depth of which pushes the directors to constantly rethink them. Thus, the development of modern theater can not be imagined without Chekhov's plays.

Keywords: modern theater, theatre criticism, adaptation, interpretation, Chekhov, drama, theatre studies, literary criticism, John Friedman, Chekhov's Bulletin

Abstract: The article attempts to describe the particularities of eventfulness in Dostoevsky’s Pentateuch novels, comparing them with the French ‘pulp novel’ of action, whose genre traditions are extensively exploited by the Russian author.In Dostoevsky studies it has become common to state that Dostoevsky’s novels are saturated with events and are characterized by extreme eventfulness. In fact, the impression is a result of application of certain artistic devises, such as intensification of action expectation. At closer consideration we see that in the novel’s depicted time dramatic dialogues definitely prevail over action.The ‘pulp’ genre substratum of the Pentateuch novels is introduced via motives, mostly in the form of the characters’ background, whereas Dostoevsky’s novels reveal absolutely different architectonics that has nothing to do with a mere synthesis of ‘pulp’ and ‘philosophical’ components, as L. Grossman assumed. In preparatory materials to Dostoevsky’s novels we see a great number of dramatically evolving plots, typical of adventure novel. Since their number is substantially reduced in the final text of Dostoevsky’s novels, we may conclude, that the influence of ‘pulp’ novel being strong, the ‘adventure’ plot proper remains beyond the confines of what is actually depicted in the novel.

Keywords: eventfulness, adventure, action, plot, French ‘pulp novel’, novel, Dostoevsky, community, Eugen Sue, genre