"Anathema"

tragedy

"Anathema" is a Leonid Andreyev’s play. The premiere of the production took place on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater on October 2, 1909. It was directed by Nemirovich-Danchenko and Vasily Luzhsky, Victor Simov was a stage designer. The production was banned by the interior minister Pyotr Stolypin with a special circular on January 9, 1910. Even before Stolypin's ban, the photographer Karl Fischer managed to publish an album with photographs of characters and mise-en-scenes of the MKhT’s production. Based on Fischer’s photos and Simov’s scenography, Malevich created sketches. In January 1910, they were published as an album of héliogravures (photogravures). In the Bakhrushin Theatre Museum we keep the photos of scenes, actors, and makeups of the MKhT's staging. The museum also holds a series of Malevich reproductions and playbills of performances in Moscow and other cities.