ABSTRACT
Vsevolod Meyerhold's grasp of the finer points of theatre theory was impressive. He was, by any standards, very well read and, if the content of his courses in actor training is anything to go by, he expected his students to develop the same level of sophisticated theatrical understanding. In addition to the practical classes experienced by Meyerhold's students, they were also required to study technical drawing, mathematics, music, social science and the history of world theatres. He began writing for publication in 1906, reflecting on his experience as a junior actor in the Moscow Art Theatre and full of bitter feelings towards Stanislavsky. Meyerhold last recorded thoughts were given in a speech in 1939, just months before he was executed by Stalin's police. The kind of performance style Meyerhold was criticising was later to be called 'method mumbling' – an introverted style of acting based on tiny mannerisms, small facial expressions and dialects.
