Milestones of Moscow's Past Theater Season

Abstract

DRAWING THE A'ITENTION of theater-lovers the world over, the Chekhov jubilee, that highlight of the past theatrical season, could not but influence the Soviet stage as a whole and Moscow's theaters in particular. The latter undertook to stage plays by Chekhov that were never before produced on the Moscow stage. Half-forgotten plays, such as The Wood Goblin and Platonov, which had rarely seen the footlights, were brought out of the archives and produced by theaters noted for their fine taste and excellent stage directing, i.e., by the Vakhtangov and Mossoviet Theaters. And still they did not contribute anything especially new to the understanding of Chekhov the playwright, nor did they shatter the opinions long formed about them. Indeed, nothing special could be expected of them, since having rejected Platonov and developed The Wood Goblin into Uncle Vanya Chekhov thus pronounced severe judgment on them. Of course, both Platonov and particularly The Wood Goblin have points highlighting the author's lyricism and keen psychological observation, but these plays were only a presage of Chekhov's great future. The theaters had to exert considerable effort to overcome both plays' definite dramatic shortcomings. It is clear, therefore, that their productions can merely be regarded in the light of a historical and literary experiment. Only two roles, performed by the talented Serafima Birman and Rostislav Plyatt, were at the level generally demanded of Chekhov's plays. There is nothing surprising about this, since the parts they played in The Wood Goblin were akin to those that were later featured in Uncle Vanya.