Пьеса И.С. Тургенева "Месяц в деревне" в адаптации Б. Фрила

Новый филологический вестник. 2026. Т. 77. № 2. С. 94–103.

Алентьева А. А.

The article is devoted to research irony in Turgenev’s play A Month in the Country and Friel’s theatre adaptation A Month in the Country. The purpose of the study is to determine how the Irish playwright interprets Turgenev’s plot. Turgenev presents the moral decline of the Russian nobility amid a state of general disorder. Using psychological techniques, he shows the development of the heroine’s feelings and interprets them through the lens of new ideas in German philosophy. The changes by the Irish dramatist reflect continuity with the Anglo-Irish literary tradition, as evidenced by the allusion to Laurence Sterne’s novel within the play. Keeping the setting and historical period of the original play, Friel transforms Turgenev’s characters and describes them as closer in temperament and behavior to individuals of the late twentieth century, which produces a comic effect. The structure and thematic focus of the adaptation are shaped by Chekhov’s poetics, revealed in the motif of unattainable personal happiness during a time of difficult historical period and in the
recurring theme of frustrated hopes and unfulfilled expectations. Thus, Turgenev’s
original and Friel’s version differ essentially. The Russian classic does not mock
his characters, but he observes them instead with the gentle irony of a sympathetic narrator. By contrast, the Irish playwright emphasizes human weaknesses through
elements of grotesque and humor. Friel also draws the reader’s attention to the
cultural connection between Russia and Ireland.

Keywords: адаптация, Turgenev, Тургенев, adaptation, Irish drama, Brian Friel, ирландская драматургия, play A Month in the Country, пьеса "Месяц в деревне", Брайан Фрил, пьеса "A Month in the Country"