Introduction:

Assessing the place of Blok’s dramas both within his own corpus and in the history of literature and theater poses a considerable challenge. On one hand, the relative obscurity of Blok’s plays and their infrequent production suggest that they belong to the realm of the Lesedrama, plays intended to be read rather than acted. On the other hand, every major director of Blok’s time expressed the desire to produce his work. Given the differences between them, it is hard to believe that Vsevolod Meyerhold, Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Konstantin Stanislavskii, Evgenii Vakhtangov, Aleksandr Tairov, and Nikolai Evreinov all could have been mistaken. ¹ Add to this list of admirers such actors as Vasilii Kachalov, and Blok’s dramas constitute a theatrical force to be reckoned with.