From Utopia to Theatre

6 September 2024 - 19 January 2025

Zotov Centre

The exhibition was created by the Zotov Centre in collaboration with the Bakhrushin Theatre Museum. It is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Vsevolod Meyerhold and represents the constructivist period of his work in theatre. In the centre of the exhibition there are five performances staged by Vsevolod Meyerhold during the period of 1922-1924: "The Magnanimous Cuckold", "The Death of Tarelkin", "The World Turned Upside Down", "D.E." and "The Forest". The presented items illustrate various forms in which constructivism can exist in theatrical art. Vsevolod Meyerhold viewed constructivism as a way of destroying the old naturalistic theatre with its deliberate decorativeness, in order to concentrate the viewer's attention on the actor. Therefore, an important place in the exhibition is given to biomechanics – the technique of actor training developed by Meyerhold. The exhibition shows items from the Meyerhold Theatre collection (GosTIM) of the Bakhrushin Museum, such as sketches, graphics, photo materials, drawings, and archival documents. Among the exhibits are sketches and dolls by Lyubov Popova for "The Magnanimous Cuckold", costume sketches by Varvara Stepanova for "The Death of Tarelkin", photos of biomechanics exercises and actors in roles, as well as portraits of Vsevolod Meyerhold himself.