HRYHORIY KVITKA-OSNOVIANENKO IS A WRITER AND HISTORIAN OF UKRAINIAN THEATER

Abstract

The article is based on Ukrainian studies (“Ukrainian”), historical and local studies (“About Kharkiv and the district cities of the Kharkiv province”, “History of the theater in Kharkiv”) works of the active public figure and Ukrainian writer of the first half of the 19th century H. Kvitka-Osnovianenko the main features of the character of the Ukrainian people, the stages of emergence, formation and development of the theater in Kharkiv are characterized. The analytical perspective of the interpretation of the works selected for analysis is an attempt to actualize the information collected by H. Kvitka-Osnovianenko about the theater in the modern scientific and cultural space. With the involvement of the body of scientific methods, the role of the theater in the cultural and artistic space of Kharkiv at the beginning of the 19th century, in the formation of the aesthetic tastes of Ukrainians, was clarified. The facts collected and systematized by H. Kvitka- Osnovianenko about the circumstances of its origin, conditions of formation, repertoire, peculiarities of the implementation of creative ideas, acting skills, financial capacity of the theater, obstacles (economic, political, etc.) that arose in the work of the theater, complement the overall picture about Kharkiv at the beginning of the 19th century. It was found that the writer and public figure H. Kvitka- Osnovianenko understood the theater as a powerful means of forming the consciousness and culture of the people. The humorous and satirical component of the performances, the scenery with a distinct ethnographic component were unique markers that brought the performances closer to the literary works for the people, on which the writer worked. Censorship did not allow the theater of that time to show works in the Ukrainian language, and the historian of the theater did not allow him to speak openly in his articles about the urgent (directed in Ukrainian) needs of the theater. Therefore, in the writings of H. Kvitka-Osnovianenko, the statement of facts prevails, while there are no comments and analysis. The author of the article considers works on the history of the theater as an organic component of the creative work of H. Kvitka-Osnovianenko, material that contributes to the multifaceted understanding of the worldview and aesthetic beliefs of the writer – an apologist of the Ukrainian language, literature, and culture.