ABOUT THIS BOOK

Reclaims the lost history of one of the twentieth century’s most innovative theaters

The Moscow Kamerny Theatre created stage worlds of movement, color, and light. Cofounded in 1914 by Alexander Tairov, a Jewish director from Ukraine, and Alisa Koonen, a Moscow-born actress from an immigrant family, the company celebrated the actor’s virtuosic inventiveness during an era when most theaters imitated daily life or prioritized the autocratic director’s vision. By the 1920s, it had become the most famous Soviet theater in the world, renowned for its actors’ acrobatic grace, its bold collaborations with avant-garde artists, and its revolutionary redefinition of what theater can be. But the accusations of Soviet disloyalty that were used to destroy the Kamerny during Stalin’s post–World War II antisemitic purge have rendered it little known outside Russia today and frequently misunderstood even there.

The Actor’s Revolution vividly reclaims this lost history by reconstructing the theater’s most illustrious premieres, analyzing them within the turbulent artistic and political context of the early Soviet era. Drawing on a decade of archival research, Dassia N. Posner restores Tairov’s legacy as one of history’s most significant directors and celebrates Koonen’s liberatory physical expressiveness as a vital alternative to Konstantin Stanislavsky’s better-known acting system. Drawing on rich archival sources, from unpublished memoirs to vibrant scenic and costume designs, this timely volume grapples with the entangled histories of art, politics, and erasure and celebrates the radical power of human creativity under—and in spite of—totalitarianism.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

DASSIA N. POSNER is an associate professor in the departments of Theatre and Slavic Languages and Literatures at Northwestern University.

REVIEWS

“The first monograph in the English language to focus exclusively on the history of the Kamerny Theatre, Posner’s The Actor’s Revolution is a significant and timely contribution to theater studies. Distinct and authoritative, this work is meticulous, richly textured, and strikingly original.” —Julia Listengarten, University of Central Florida

“Foregrounded, at last, is Alisa Koonen’s foundational role in the company together with its successful wide touring as far as South America—not common in the early Soviet period. Comprehensive, meticulously researched, deeply engaged, and precise, this book will be the decisive reference for the Kamerny Theatre in its extraordinarily multi-layered context.” —Maria Shevtsova, University of London

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures

Translation Note

Terms and Abbreviations

Prologue: A Chamber Revolution

Part 1. Geometry of the Soul

Chapter 1. The Scenography of Actor Emotion

Chapter 2. An Actor Creates

Chapter 3. Alisa Koonen’s Revolutionary Women

Part 2. Theater Unchained

Chapter 4. A Reflection in Many Mirrors

Chapter 5. The Style of Our Era

Part 3. The Politics of Political Theater

Chapter 6. East Meets Brecht

Chapter 7. American Expressionism on the Soviet Stage

Chapter 8. The Struggle to Be Soviet Enough

Epilogue. Theater Chained

Appendix: Repertoire Chart

Acknowledgments

Bibliography

Notes

Index