Book Description

Meyerhold's productions were an encyclopedia of theatrical history, incorporating everything from circus tricks to highly stylized elements of the Kabuki theatre. In the twenties and thirties Meyerhold's theatre became a mecca for those seeking new theatrical ideas. There was hardly a figure of importance in the theatre at that time who did not come to Moscow to see his work. And many, including Brecht, stayed on to study. Unlike Stanislavsky, Meyerhold was not a theoretician. He left behind no large body of theoretical writings summing up his many years of experience in the theatre. What do remain and must take the place of both Meyerhold's theoretical writings and his memoirs are the reminiscences and confessions made in conversations with pupils and friends. Of course, some of the most valuable are those recorded by Aleksandr Gladkov during his years of close association with Meyerhold. A talented essayist and "keen" observer, Gladkov has succeeded in capturing the essence of Meyerhold's personality and temperament as revealed in the director's own informal comments about his rich and varied experiences in the theatre. His notes made at rehearsals present the living Meyerhold in action: complex, demanding, sometimes grossly unfair in his treatment of others, but never dull or indifferent. Included in the book is a biographical introduction by Alma Law, the translator and editor, followed by Gladkov's own account of his association with Meyerhold. Dr. Law has also added commentary to Meyerhold's observations based on many hours on interviews with Gladkov in Moscow during the 1970s.