"Vakhtangov and the Russian Theatre" Post production diary update 3.

"Vakhtangov and the Russian Theatre" Post production diary update 3.


A sense of real movement in the script of Vakhtangov and the Russian theatre as I move towards the full post production period. After several discussions with Vladislav Ivanov I am starting to see a deeper layer to the film which has not occurred to me before and that revolves around the death of Vakhtangov and its significance. In the years 1920-1922 Vakhtangov was in immense pain and was aware that he was dying from an almost incurable disease and yet he carried on his creative and artistic life to  an almost unbearable pitch and tempo, beyond his own human capabilities. Vakhtangov didn't try and draw out the end but rather with  ties of life loosening, he strove forwards to the end, practically hastening it with his artistic effort and outpouring.

This almost Shakespearean tragic element to his life can not be underestimated and is a driving force in any account of his life without which his artistic achievements can hardly be understood.

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"Vakhtangov and the Russian Theatre" Post production diary update 2.

Vakhtangov Study Day at the Rose Bruford College

Vakhtangov Study Day at the  Rose Bruford College – Film. Hosted by The Stanislavski Centre.

Guest Speaker Andrei Maleav Babel with the participation of  Graham Dixon  The Vakhtangov Study day which took place in 2014 took place at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre and performance organised by The Stanislavski Centre with guest speaker Andrei Malaev-Babel, and Graham Dixon. The film Vakhtangov and the Russian Theatre was also premiered at the event.

  Books by Andrei Maleav-Babel about Vakhtangov:

  The Vahktangov Sourcebook is a rich and extensive source of information and analysis of the central principles of Vakhtangov’s  work and compiles new translations of his key writings on the art of theatre, making it the primary source of first hand material on this master of theatre in the English speaking world. For more information click on this link or click on the thumbnail.     Ranging from Moscow to Israel, from Fantastic Realism to Vakhtangov’s futuristic projection, the theatre of the ‘Eternal Mask’,


Yevgeny Vakhtangov: A Critical Portrait: For more information click on this link or click on the thumbnail.

  

• considers his input as one of the original teachers of Stanislavsky’s system, and the complex relationship shared by the two men;
• reflects on his directorship of the First Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre and the Habima (which was later to become Israel’s National Theatre) as well as the Vakhtangov Studio, the institution he established;
• examines in detail his three final directorial masterpieces, Erick XIV, The Dybbuk and Princess Turandot.

 Graham Dixon and the Michael Chekov Studio London: The Chekov Studio London. Graham Dixon  started the Michael Chekhov Studio in 2003 as a means to give actors and directors living in London an opportunity to access and explore Michael Chekhov’s unique approach to the art of acting. Click on the thumbnail or the link above for more information about his work.  







The Stanislavski Centre. The Stanislavski Centre . The Stanislavski Centre at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance is a unique initiative within the UK to create a home for both academic research and practice/performance events based upon the work of Konstantin Stanislavski. The Centre, which is located within the college’s Learning Resources Centre, houses a core collection of books and other printed material (mostly in the Russian language), a photographic archive of more than 200 images and a small collection of material on video and DVD.






       Michael Craig,  Copernicus Films.Michael Craig and Copernicus Films completed a film about Vakhtangov “Vakhtangov and the Russian Theatre” which was also premiered at the Vakhtangov Study day. Vakhtangov eventually became one of the foremost directors of the Russian theatre in the early twentieth century until his early death in 1922 at the age of 39. Talented and enigmatic, his great achievement was the the synthesis of Stanislavsky’s theories of acting and realism and Meyerhold’s studied theatrically. This film by Michael Craig is the third in the series about Russian theatre in the early 20th century. Click here for more information about this film.