An exhibition dedicated to the anniversaries of the Moscow Art Theater and the Theater Museum opens in Moscow

“The Birth of a Miracle”

On August 11, the New Manezh opened an exhibition dedicated to two significant dates in theatrical history: the 125th anniversary of the Moscow Art Theater and the centenary of the Moscow Art Theater Museum.

As the organizers emphasize, the project “Theatre and Museum. The Birth of a Miracle” is distinguished by the participation of director Viktor Kramer in its creation – it was he who thought out the exhibition space to the smallest detail. At the same time, the Moscow Art Theater Museum acted as the “supplier” of the exhibits.

At this stage, it is known that the basis of the project is the costumes and props of famous productions, objects with a unique history, and they were not just hung on the walls and laid out in shop windows, but entered into the context of art objects and installations. Thus, the organizers will hope to overcome the stereotype that the theater museum is a warehouse of unnecessary things.

The press service of the Moscow Art Theater quotes the director of the museum, Sofya Gracheva, who said the following in connection with the opening of the exhibition:

– Behind every item stored in the Moscow Art Theater Museum is a personal story of legendary actors, directors, writers, artists, their feelings, relationships, passion, pain, experiences, hopes and doubts, success and the sacrifice that they made on the altar of serving the theater – their business of life. Service is always difficult. And with the help of the exhibition, we want to tell why they don’t work in the theater, but serve.

One of the main “chips” of the exhibition can be called the layout of the stage of the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov, impressive in size and equipped with operating mechanics, as well as models of individual performances.

That is, the main bet is made on visualization – therefore, a number of installations will show the original costumes played by Olga Knipper-Chekhova, Ivan Moskvin, Anastasia Vertinskaya, Stanislav Lyubshin, Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Oleg Efremov, Oleg Tabakov and other legendary actors.

Special attention is paid to the founding fathers: Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko, or rather their meeting in the “Slavianski Bazaar”, with which the Moscow Art Theater began. This meeting of two geniuses was conveyed by showing a restaurant table with ideas “hovering” over it.