Tompa, Andrea. Staging Nabokov. 2008

The essay deals with the problems of staging Vladimir Nabokov's works, from plays to short stories and novels. Her study is based on a research of specific performances and related written critical evaluation of Nabokov's writings appeared on stage. The article focuses on Eastern European theatre performances premiered after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the period of social changes in Russia, Romania and Hungary, but also addresses the questions of adaptation and theatrical representation in general. The article analyzes some performances in detail, discussing the mise-en-scenes, acting, and other dramaturgical means. The article concludes that the double nature of Nabokov's writing - this world and the otherworld - represents a major challenge for the stage adaptation, particularly the metaphysical dimension of representation. As Tompa demonstrates, this dimension is absent merely due to dramaturgical constraints and limited interpretations of the texts.