''The Philistines'' (russian: Мещане, translit=Meshchane) is the debut play by

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...

written in 1901. It was first published by Znaniye in 1902, subtitled: "The Scenes in the House of Bessemenov. The Drama sketch in 4 Acts". The play premiered on 26 March 1902 at the

Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...

, directed by

Konstantin Stanislavski Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( Alekseyev; russian: Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈgʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Russian Soviet Fe ...

and

Vasily Luzhsky Vasily Vasilyevich Luzhsky (russian: Василий Васильевич Лужский, born Kaluzhsky, Калужский; 31 December 1869, — 2 July 1931, Moscow, USSR) was a Russian, Soviet stage actor, theatre director and pedagogue, assoc ...

, the latter taking the leading part of Bessemenov. The production enjoyed astounding success, even though every phrase considered 'too risky' had been cut out by the censors. In the course of its first year 60 thousand copies of ''The Philistines'' were sold. In 1903 it was awarded the

Griboyedov Prize The Griboyedov Prize (russian: Грибоедовская премия) was a Russian literary award established in 1878 by the Society of Russian Dramatists and Opera Composers to honor Alexander Griboyedov. The opening ceremony was held on 11 ...

.Commentaries to ''The Philistines''
Commentaries. The Works by M. Gorky in 30 volumes. Khudozhestvennaya Literatura. 1949-1956

References

1902 plays Russian plays Plays by Maxim Gorky {{1900s-play-stub