Stanislavsky and Meyerhold

The Author: Robert Leach, formerly reader in Drama at Birmingham University, now teaches at the University of Edinburgh. He gained his Ph.D. from Cambridge University for his research on Russian Revolutionary Theatre. He is a freelance theatre director, whose work includes the world premiere of the formerly banned I Want a Baby by Sergei Tretyakov at Moscow’s Teatr u Nikitskikh Vorot in 1990. He has written many books, including Revolutionary Theatre, A History of Russian Theatre and The Punch and Judy Show: History, Tradition and Meaning.

• Contents: The careers of the two most significant 20thcentury theatre practitioners – The development of modern acting techniques – Theatre during Russia’s revolutionary period.

«Wer in die spannende Geschichte des russischen Theaters und/oder in das Drama Mejerchol'ds und Stanislavskijs einsteigen will, findet in vorliegender, von profundem Wissen gespeister Studie eine erkenntnisreiche Lektüre.» (Sabine Koller, Osteuropa)«...Robert Leach’s study can be recommended to any student of theatre for its sympathetic and even-handed treatment of both Stanislavskii and Meierkhol’d and for its attempt to elucidate their theoretical approaches in a clear-sighted and engaging manner.» (Nick Worrall, Slavonic and East European Review)«Leach’s archival research conjoins with his own evident enthusiasm for the subject to present illuminating insights and some exercises and ideas, which to date I had not read elsewhere. The result is a book which is not only vastly enjoyable for its clarity and linguistic liveliness, but also informative in its juxtaposition of theories and practices.» (Bella Merlin, New Theatre Quarterly)