A photographic exhibition and four events mark the anniversary of the birth in January 1863 of acclaimed theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski.
Stanislavski on Stage covers a number of key productions at the Moscow Art Theatre in which he was involved either as a performer, director or producer.
The Theatre and its co–founders, Stanislavski and teacher, writer and director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, were central to the resurgence of interest in Chekhov's The Seagull as a result of a production in which Stanislavski played Trigorin, and the venue hosted the premières of both Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard. The work of Turgenev, Shakespeare and Gorky also featured in the early repertoire.
Four events complement the exhibition: BBC Radio 3 Nightwaves dedicated a programme to Stanislavski, his work at the Moscow Arts Theatre and the techniques he developed to achieve emotional truth in performance, the Stanislavski 'system', which continues to influence practice to this day. The broadcast is available to listen to on BBC iPlayer.
On Tuesday 15 January, a panel discussion will be held on the work of Stanislavski biographer, translator and scholar Jean Benedetti, on Tuesday 22 January, Jonathan Pitches, author of Russians in Britain, speaks on the influence of Russian actor training on British theatre, and on Tuesday 29 January, Professor Sergei Tcherkasski from the St Petersburg Academy of Theatre Arts looks at the Stanislavski 'system' in contemporary actor training.
Closing the events will be Staging Photographs on Tuesday 5 February, a talk by David Bate, Professor of Photography at the University of Westminster, which considers how photographs can document performance.
Stanislavski on Stage is organised by the Stanislavski Centre at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance and sees the re–mounting the 2008 exhibition seen at the National Theatre under the curation of Dr Paul Fryer, Director of the Stanislavski Centre (original curation by Robert McIndoe and design by Nigel Hook).
Stanislavski on Stage runs from 15 January to 11 February 2013 at Pushkin House, Bloomsbury Square, London. Admission is free. For further information visit the Rose Bruford web site.