Kamernyi teatr

Moscow-Leningrad: Kinopechat', 1927 Octavo 17x13cm., wrappers, 64pp. Cover design by the Stenberg Brothers. Founded in 1914 by Aleksandr Tairov. It provided an intimate environment which drew the audience and actors together. In the early Soviet era it presented major experimental drama and was buttressed by the artistic director Aleksandra Ekster for set and costume design, and further collaboration of Konstantin Medunetskii for decor. Initially it steered clear of any political orientation, but in 1928 Tairov produced Bulgakov's Purple Island which drew the authorities' attention. Stalin himself mocked its presence as a bourgeois theater and thenceforth it operated under close scrutiny, persisting into WWII. This book is the first appraisal of its place in Russian art and culture, with photos of its various activities to date of various major productions before it encountered government resistance. OCLC finds 6 North American library holdings of this first edition.