ABSTRACT
On 15 September 1932, Sakhnovski, the director of Dead Souls, wrote in the magazine, Soviet Art: ‘The work which Stanislavski did with the cast of Dead Souls represents one of the most significant chapters in the history of the Art Theatre. Some rehearsals were fully recorded verbatim, others partially. They will remain in the memory of all who were present, not only as a remarkable demonstration of directing by a man of genius, but also of new methods in creating a role. At some rehearsals, the cast applauded Stanislavski wildly as he revolutionised the way of representing familiar things.’ The very particular circumstances surrounding this production obliged Stanislavski to work miracles. The arty critics were, of course, on the side of the ‘innovators’. They were extremely active and aggressive and literally fell upon anything in the theatre that showed any degree of sane thinking.
