Moscow Art Theatre
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Moscow Art Theatre (Russian: Московский Художественный Академический Театр, МХАТ) is a theatre company in Moscow, Russia, founded in 1897 by Constantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. It was conceived as a venue for naturalistic theatre, in contrast to the melodramas that were Russia's dominant form of theatre at the time. In 1987, the theatre split into two troupes: Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre and Gorky Moscow Art Theatre. Oleg Tabakov has been Chechov Moscow Art Theatre's artistic director since 2000. The theatre is presently located just off Tverskaya Street, within walking distance of Red Square.
The theatre quickly became famous when it staged productions of Anton Chekhov's four major works, beginning with The Seagull. This play has been so firmly associated with the Moscow Art Theatre that the seagull became its emblem. The theatre continued to thrive after the October Revolution of 1917 and was one of the premier state-supported theatres of the Soviet Union, with an extensive repertoire of leading Russian and Western playwrights. Mikhail Bulgakov wrote several plays for the Moscow Art Theatre and described his experiences in a slightly fictionalised form in his novel Black snow: Theatrical Novel (Russian: Театральный роман). A significant number of Moscow Art Theatre's actors were awarded the prestigious title of People's Artist of the USSR. Many actors became nationally known and admired thanks to their film roles.
