Дина Манчева

The paper examines the Bible intertextuality in the 1890s Francophone symbolist drama and in the 1900s Russian modernist theatre in order to identify their typologic resemblances and their original trends. The analysis focuses on two kinds of Christian plots (events of human evolution and moments of God"s message), on their specific approach and functioning in modern plays. The study reveals that similar biblical stories, their free interpretation and their close structural principles in contemporary works are characteric of both the Francophone and the Russian theatre. However, western European authors seek out the mystic truth in the sacred writings and strengthen their universal significance, while the Slavic symbolists consider them in connection with their own national problems and call into question the optimism of God"s word. The Russian modernists also introduce some new principles into their biblical plays (grotesque, irony, conventional stage), which bring them closer to the experimental avant-garde studies of the 20th century.