"Vakhtangov and the Russian Theatre" Post production diary update 4.

Michael Chekhov as Erik 14th in Vakhtangov's
 Production of the play by the same name

Another day of editing on Vakhtangov and the Russian Theatre - http://www.vakhtangov.copernicusfilms.com

Working through the material section by section in order to establish a first draft. Tomorrow will concentrate on the impact of Gordon Craig and Stanislavsky's production of Hamlet. This was a ground breaking production using Gordon Craig's theatre design innovations. Also Craig conceived of the production as a mono drama. That is, all the main characters in Shakespeare's play are products of Hamlet's conciousness and are not real. Here was a new kind of subjectivity and certainly a long way from Stanislavsky's idea of subjectity or the autonomy of individual characters in a  play. This production with Craig's innovationsin 1911 made a lasting  impression on Stanislavsky's students including Vakhtangov who put on productions of Erik 14th and Turandot.