Moscow - Theatres [antikvár]

Foreword For decades Moscow has had a reputation as a city of theatres. The birthplace of the historic Bolshoi, Maly and Moscow Art theatres, the city has been and still is a centre for the development of bold, exploratory, modern ideas in dramatic art and renowned for its great number of highly-gifted, interesting directors, actors, playwrights and artists. Every evening the doors of Moscow's thirty-two theatres open to streams of theatregoers. This interest in the theatre is growing every year, thanks to the original conceptions, unique styles of presentation and serious aims of the programmes offered, thanks also to the solidarity and common goals of the artists belonging to the capital's repertory companies, the depth of the problems raised by their productions. The best Moscow theatres devote themselves to developing the principles of directing and acting laid down by Stanislavsky, Meyerhold, Nemirovich-Danchenko, Vakhtangov, Okhlopkov and Tairov. The discoveries and successes of Moscow's theatres today, full of youthful vigour, can be attributed to the creative assimilation of the searchings, experience and triumphs of preceding generations. The leading figures in the theatre world do not confine themselves to their work on the stage. They also analyse in the press the problems they are concerned with professionally, often take part in stormy and constructive discussions with one another. One of the Soviet theatre's excellent traditions is the constant attention it pays to amateur drama groups. Many thousands of Muscovites devote their spare time to the activities of these groups which work with great dedication and enthusiasm and frequently stage interesting and original productions. Moscow's theatrical scene changes in the summer when touring companies from various parts of the Soviet Union and from other countries visit the city. In their turn Moscow actors embark on tours of their own country and foreign countries. This practice gives Moscow theatregoers an opportunity to see the work of the best representatives of the theatre of the many nationalities of the USSR and of other countries. At the present moment the theatrical community of Moscow is busy preparing for the Olympics when visitors from all over the world will have a chance to see its productions. They will be able to get an idea of the development of modern Soviet theatre, evaluate its bold and deep search for new paths, the whole rich spectrum of its artistic style.