Unprecedented in its comprehensiveness, The Moscow Art Theatre fills a large gap in our knowledge of Stanislavsky and his theatre. Worrall focuses in particular detail on four of The Moscow Art Theatre's best-known productions:
* Tolstoy's Tsar Fedor Ioannovich
* Gorky's The Lower Depths
* Chekov's The Cherry Orchard
* Turgenev's A Month in the Country

eBook available with sample pages: 0203114434

'Frayn's translation, which strikes me as splendidly lucid and alive ...will be acted again and again' New Statesman In Chekhov's tragi-comedy - perhaps his most popular play - the Gayev family is torn by powerful forces deeply rooted in history and the society in which they live. Their estate is hopelessly in debt: urged to cut down their beautiful cherry orchard and sell the land for holiday cottages, they struggle to act decisively. Originally published to coincide with Peter Hall's National Theatre production in 1978, this edition features the revised translation staged by Sam Mendes at the Aldwych Theatre, London, in 1989, starring Judi Dench and Ronald Pickup. Commentary and notes by Nick Worrall

This is the first book to deal with the work of three important Soivet theatre directors - Alexander Tairov, Evgeni Vakhtangov and Nikolai OkHlopkov - who, although familiar names in the West, are not often the subjects of full-length studies. The present one therefore sets out to introduce their work to theatre specialists and non-specialists alike, analysing individual productions and placing them within the context of their time. The active working life of the three directors spans, in varying stages, the period of revolution and civil war with its accompanying radical artistic innovations; the conservative phase of socialist realism in the 1930s and 1940s; and the more flexible and creative artistic years of the late 1950s and 1960s. The book contains a number of photographs of the original productions as well as a chronology of theatrical and historical events. Worrall's study will be of interest to students and scholars of Russian studies and theatre history.

The slamming of the front door at the end of "A Doll's House "shatters the romantic masquerade of the Helmers' marriage. In their stultifying and infantilised relationship, Nora and Torvald have deceived themselves and each other both consciously and subconsciously, until Nora acknowledges the need for individual freedom.

A revised student edition of classic set text: "A Doll's House "(1879), is a masterpiece of theatrical craft which, for the first time portrayed the tragic hypocrisy of Victorian middle class marriage on stage. The play ushered in a new social era and "exploded like a bomb into contemporary life."

The Student Edition contains these exclusive features:

- A chronology of the playwright's life and work

- An introduction giving the background of the play

- Commentary on themes, characters. language and style

- Notes on individual words and phrases in the text

- Questions for further study

- Bibliography for further reading.