MOSCOW Art Theatre will bring to the Arts Festival Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, an updated version of the company's 1898 production which planted it firmly on the international stage.
Born of dissatisfaction with established Russian theatre, the company was formed in 1898 by Konstantin Stanislavsky, creator of the Stanislavsky Method acting technique, and writer-producer Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.
Moscow Art Theatre's first production was the premiere of Alexi Tolstoy's Tsar Feodor Ivanovich, a revolutionary production that dealt with the harsh realities of 17th century Russia.
Tsar Feodor was a success, but the company's production of The Merchant of Venice flopped, and its third play, Hannele, was banned on religious grounds.
These events put the Moscow Art Theatre at a crossroads, with its next project - The Seagull - acquiring an importance far out of proportion to the producer's intentions. Its failure would have spelled doom for the new company.
The play was Chekhov's first success, and a turning point for the Moscow Art Theatre.
