The Thieving Magpie

To the 205th anniversary of A. I. Herzen’s birth. A radio play from the archive of the Gosteleradiofond.

“Magpie-Fowl” is a story by Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (1846), published in the 2nd issue of the journal “Sovremennik” for 1848, dedicated to Mikhail Shchepkin.

With an ironic epigraph, Herzen placed verses from 1816 addressed to the serf-theater enthusiast S. M. Kamensky. It was in his theater that the story of Aneta happened—about which Herzen was told by the actor M. Shchepkin.

The story begins with a conversation between three men, unnamed. They try to find an answer to the question: “Why are there no great actresses in Russia?” Without reaching a common opinion during their discussion of the “women’s question,” they ask the newly appearing interlocutor, a famous artist, to judge them. But instead of answering their question, the artist asserts that he knew a great actress and tells the story of their meeting.