Moscow

Moscow Art Theatre (MAT)

1901-1919

The Art Public Theatre, founded in 1898 by Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, officially received the name Moscow Art Theatre (MAT) in 1901. In 1902, the theatre settled in Kamergersky Lane, in a building acquired and rebuilt at the expense of the philanthropist Savva Morozov, according to the design of architect Fyodor Shekhtel. The MAT gained genuine acclaim through the dramaturgy of Anton Chekhov: the productions of "The Seagull" (1898), "Uncle Vanya" (1899), "Three Sisters" (1901), and "The Cherry Orchard" (1904) became classics of world theatre. Equally significant were the productions of Maxim Gorky's plays, "The Philistines" and "The Lower Depths" (1902). The core of the troupe consisted of graduates from the drama department of the Music and Drama School (Olga Knipper, Ivan Moskvin, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Margarita Savitskaya) and participants of the "Society of Art and Literature" performances under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavsky (Maria Lilina, Maria Andreeva, Alexander Artem, Vasily Luzhsky, Georgy Burdzhalov). In 1900, Vasily Kachalov was admitted to the troupe. The theatre's repertoire also included classical works: Alexander Griboyedov's "Woe from Wit" (1906), Maurice Maeterlinck's "The Blue Bird" (1908), Ivan Turgenev's "A Month in the Country" (1909), William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (1911), and Molière's "The Imaginary Invalid" (1913). As early as these years, the Moscow Art Theatre became not just a theatre, but a center of artistic thought that shaped the development of Russian and world stage direction in the 20th century. In 1912, the First Studio began to take shape at the theatre to train actors in the spirit of the "Stanislavsky system," which later became the foundation of the Moscow Academic Art Theatre School. The online collection of the Bakhrushin Theatre Museum features posters, photographs, set design sketches, archival materials, and other items reflecting the creative life of the theatre during this pivotal period.