Many read the play, written by Maxim Gorky, “At the Bottom”. The history of its creation is very interesting. As you know, the Russian writer himself in his youth led a bosy lifestyle, often traveled with a knapsack behind his back. He probably had to spend the night in shelters for the homeless. Most likely, the idea of creating a work about the whole secret life of such people has been ripening in the mind of Maxim Gorky for a long time. But he realized only when the writer decided to turn to dramaturgy. This happened at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries.
Importunate artists
The troupe of the Moscow Art Theater went to the Crimea in 1900 to stage his plays “Uncle Vanya” and “The Seagull” before A. Chekhov. But not only that was the mission of the actors. As the director of the theater Nemirovich-Danchenko admitted, their goal was also to meet with Gorky and convince him to write a play. They succeeded. The very history of the creation of “At the Bottom” of Gorky was the impetus for writing other plays. These are such famous works as "Petty Bourgeois" and "Summer Residents". Thanks to the entreaties of the artists, Maxim Gorky discovered the playwright.
Work on the plays
All three works were written almost simultaneously. Already in 1901, the manuscript "Philistines" was handed over to the theater. The story of the creation of “At the bottom” of Gorky was more complicated. The author could not stop for a single title for a long time. The options of Nochlezhka, Without Sun, and Bottom were tried. But that it should be a play, Gorky had no doubt. He wanted to convey the meaning of the work, first of all, to those people whom he depicted as inhabitants of the overnight stay for the poor: uneducated and illiterate. However, the work was controversial: almost twenty years of observing the life, morals and vocabulary of “former people” affected it.
The story of the creation of "At the bottom" of Gorky, or How it all began
Already the "Petty Bourgeoisie" made a lot of noise. Censorship tried to extinct especially sharp places, had to make concessions. The play was first staged in St. Petersburg, where the cast of the Moscow Art Theater went on tour in March 1902. At the dress rehearsal, the hall was full of civilian fat, with a horse gendarmerie standing in front of the entrance. Stanislavsky joked about this, that such training is more in line with the general battle than rehearsal. Such government excitement only fueled public interest in the playwright-debutant. Therefore, the second work was simply doomed to success.
Staging
The story of the creation of “At the bottom” of Gorky was much shorter than the path of its advancement to the audience. It took as long as 18 months of upholstering the thresholds of various permitting commissions before censorship gave the go-ahead for the production, but only on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater. According to historical sources, she did this because she was sure of the failure of the play. However, the government has lost sight of the fact that a revolutionary situation is brewing in the country. 1905 was just around the corner. The success of the play was deafening, and only the star cast cannot be blamed for this. To the thunder of applause, Gorky was summoned to the stage fifteen times. The author was bewildered, he did not expect such fame. Since then, Gorky’s work “At the Bottom” on the Moscow Art Theater’s stage for 60 years (until December 1962) has been staged 1,451 times.