The manuscript translation is a unique phenomenon of Slovenian theatre: it was created in 1903, shortly after the premiere at the Moscow Art Theatre. Analyses of the repertoire of Slovenian professional theatre in the first decades of its existence always point to tardiness, both in the staging of classical authors and contemporary translated dramatic literature. We Slovenians approached Chekhov, who was the first author of the Moscow Art Theatre, much more cautiously and with considerable delay, long after his untimely death. The present translation therefore represents an exception in the practice of careful procrastination and continuous translation and performance of dramatic works that eventually (mostly rightly) sank into oblivion.
The young Maxim Gorky wrote the play in 1901 and 1902, and the first performance (18. 12. 1902) was directed by Konstantin Stanislavsky. The play was an incredible success and was also performed almost simultaneously in Berlin (23. 1. 1903, Berliner Deutschen Theater). The first German book edition was also published in 1903. This is also the year the Slovenian translation was created. In the last, fourth volume, the date 24 July 1903 is added at the end. The premiere of the first Slovenian performance took place – on 25 October 1904 – in a true Pan-Slavic mood: the Russian dramatic work was directed by the Czech director Jaroslav Tišnov and a good half of the roles were distributed among Czech actors. Among the more prominent performers were some Slovenian actors: in addition to Hinko Nučič, Anton Verovšek and Danilo, Avgusta Danilova also appeared and created one of her most important roles with Vasilisa. The production also featured an actor of Croatian origin, Lev Dragutinović, who played the role of At the bottom directed in Trieste in 1911, in Kobal's translation.
Classical philologist Fran Kobal (1881-1937) was the secretary of the Dramatic Society, a member of the board of the Ljubljana Theatre, a publicist and translator. The play At the bottom translated it while still quite young, during his student years. A new translation was provided by the poet Pavel Golia in 1920. The play was performed on both professional and amateur stages in all subsequent periods; other important texts by Maxim Gorky, for example Petty bourgeois or Resort guests, were staged in Slovenia with a delay of several decades.
Fran Kobal transcribed each of the four acts into a 20.5 x 17 cm school notebook. The pages are numbered. In the first notebook, the cast of the Slovenian premiere of this famous Russian drama is written in pencil alongside the characters.