Playbill

12 June 1908

Paper, printing

78,7х57,5

In the spring of 1908, Smolensk Province was struck by a catastrophic flooding of the Dnieper. A poster for a charity performance responding to this natural disaster, dated 12 June, has survived from Dorogobuzh, a town in the Smolensk region. The performance of A. P. Chekhov’s play “Uncle Vanya” took place at the summer theatre of the voluntary fire society. The stage was used by a professional dramatic troupe under the direction of I. A. Rostovtsev (Rostovsky). The poster states that half of the net proceeds were to be donated “for the benefit of the poor of the town of Dorogobuzh affected by the recent spring flood”. Another poster by the same troupe has also been preserved in the museum collection, showing that the consequences of the flood were felt later as well: during the summer, the actors staged A. N. Ostrovsky’s drama “The Storm”, with ten percent of the proceeds allocated to famine relief.

КП 310370/626/153