Anatoly Efros (1925-1987), one of the most admired and original directors of post-war Russia, directed at the Central Children's Theatre, Malaya Bronnaya Theatre, Lenkom Theatre, Moscow Art Theatre, and Taganka Theatre, and elsewhere including the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and the Toen Theatre in Tokyo. He taught directing at the State Institute for Theatre Training and wrote several influential books. His productions received numerous awards for creative excellence. In

This book is an insiders' account of the groundbreaking Moscow production of Chekhov's The Seagull directed by Anatoly Efros in 1966, which heralded a paradigm shift in the interpretation and staging of Chekhov's plays. It is a unique glimpse behind the curtain of the laboratory of new Russian theatre in the twentieth century. Efros' articles about Chekhov and The Seagull, his diaries, interviews and conversations, and most importantly the original rehearsal records combine to form an in-depth account of of the director and his working process. This is an essential book for anyone with an interest in Chekhov and the history of modern Russian theatre.

This book is an insiders' account of the groundbreaking Moscow production of Chekhov's The Seagull directed by Anatoly Efros in 1966, which heralded a paradigm shift in the interpretation and staging of Chekhov's plays. It is a unique glimpse behind the curtain of the laboratory of new Russian theatre in the twentieth century. Efros' articles about Chekhov and The Seagull, his diaries, interviews and conversations, and most importantly the original rehearsal records combine to form an in-depth account of of the director and his working process. This is an essential book for anyone with an interest in Chekhov and the history of modern Russian theatre.