Monday, 28 September 2026

Hamlet written by the English playwright William Shakespeare and performed at the Deutsches Volkstheater, Vienna, in 1926.

Scenes from Hamlet written by the English playwright William Shakespeare and performed at the Deutsches Volkstheater, Vienna, in 1926, starring Alexander Moissi as Hamlet.






Alexander Moissi as "Hamlet", Deutsches Volkstheater, 1926 


Alexander Moissi as Hamlet





Lavrenyov's 'Fault' performed at the Vakhtangov Theatre, Moscow, in 1927 with the scenery by N. P. Akimov.

   Lavrenyov's 'Fault' performed at the Vakhtangov Theatre, Moscow, in 1927 with the scenery by N. P. Akimov. 

   Boris Andreyevich Lavrenyov (1891 – 1959) was a Soviet Russian writer and playwright.

   Nikolay Pavlovich Akimov[a] (1901 – 1968) was a Soviet experimental theatre director and scenic designer noted for his work with the Leningrad Comedy Theatre. His most notorious production was the cynical version of Hamlet (1932), with Ophelia as a drunken prostitute and the king's ghost as a clever mystification arranged by Hamlet.




Armored train 14-69 written by Vsevolod Ivanov (1895-1963) and performed by the Moscow Art Theater on 8 November 1927

  Scenes from Armored Train 14-69 written by the Russian playwright Vsevolod Ivanov (1895-1963) and performed by the Moscow Art Theater on 8 November 1927, with the theatre set by the Russian scenographer Viktor A. Simov (1858-1935).

   Armoured Train 14–69 (Russian: Бронепоезд 14–69, romanized: Bronepoezd 14–69) is a 1927 Soviet play by Vsevolod Ivanov. Based on his 1922 novel of the same name, it was the first play that he wrote and remains his most important. Armoured Train 14–69 was first performed by the world-famous Moscow Art Theatre in a production that opened with a gala performance on 8 November 1927.





Photo of Khmelev (centre) from the 1927 Moscow production.




Further information about Armoured Train 14-69


A sketch of the scenery by G. Dumont for Philocnetus (the tragedy) written by the ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles.

A sketch of the scenery by G. Dumont for  Philocnetus (the tragedy) written by the ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles. 




Sunday, 27 September 2026

Layout of the scenery by the Georgian set designer Irakli I. Gamrekeli for Anzor written by Sandro Shanshiashvili (1888-1979), and performed at the Rustaveli Theatre (Georgian SSR) in 1928.

Layout of the scenery by the Georgian set designer Irakli I. Gamrekeli (1894-1943) for the play Anzor written by the Georgian playwright Sandro Shanshiashvili (1888-1979) and performed at the Rustaveli Theatre (Georgian SSR) in 1928.





Sketches of scenery by Irakly Gamrekeli (1894-1943) for Anzor. Watercolor, gouache. Georgian Theater named after Shota Rustaveli. Tbilisi. 1928. 




Layout of the scenery by A. G. Tyshler for Richard III by William Shakespeare, performed at the Bolshoi Theater, Moscow, in 1935.

Layout of the scenery by the Russian stage designer Alexander G. Tyshler (1898-1980) for the play Richard III, written by the English playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616), and performed at the Bolshoi Theater, Moscow, in 1935.



Saturday, 26 September 2026

Der Tor und der Tod (Death and the Fool, first published in 1893) written by Hugo von Hofmansthal (1874-1929 ) and performed in Dresden, in 1929.

A scene from Der Tor und der Tod (Death and the Fool, first published in 1893) written by the German playwright Hugo von Hofmansthal (1874-1929 ) and performed in Dresden in 1929.



Young Anton Walbrook (Adolf Wohlbrück) in Der Tor und der Tod Dresden, 1929


Etching by S. Frank for Der Tor und der Tod by Hofmannsthal, 1923 


Sunday, 20 September 2026

Hamlet written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) and produced at the New Theatre, London, from 14th November 1934 to 1935

   Scenes from Hamlet written by the English playwright William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) and produced at the New Theatre, London, from  14th November 1934 to 1935, with John Gielgud (as Hamlet) and Jessica Tandy (as Ophelia).

   The New York Times :  1935/01/01   'HAMLET' OF GIELGUD MAY BE SHOWN HERE; Theatre Guild ...  LONDON, Dec. 31.—New York is expected to see the most talked-of modern interpretation of "Hamlet" in London. The production of the young English actor, John Gielgud, at the New Theatre...



 Hamlet-Act 3, Scene 4  Queen: Whereon do you look? Hamlet: On him, on him! 


John Gielgud Hamlet


Hamlet, with John Gielgud (as Hamlet) and Jessica Tandy (as Ophelia), at the New Theatre, London 1935.  Theatre World, January 1935.




Hamlet | Souvenir Theatre Programme Performed at The New Theatre, St. Martin's Lane, London  William Shakespeare [Starring John Gielgud, Jack Hawkins, Jessica Tandy, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quayle] 1935.




Saturday, 19 September 2026

Macbeth directed by Orson Welles and performed at Harlem's Lafayette Theate, New York City, with an all-Black cast, in 1936.

   Scenes from Macbeth directed by Orson Welles and performed at Harlem's Lafayette Theate, New York City, with an all-Black cast, in 1936.

   “Voodoo” Macbeth opened at the Lafayette Theatre on April 14, 1936. Directed by a 20-year-old Orson Welles for the Federal Theatre Project’s Negro Unit, the production was an immediate, historic sensation – drawing 10,000 spectators to the street outside the theatre on opening night.
   The  production  was an overwhelming success, winning  rave reviews from both the New York Times and New York Daily News when it opened on April 14, 1936.  Macbeth played for 10 sold-out weeks at the Lafayette Theatre before moving to the Adelphi Theatre and  then embarking on a national tour.



Macbeth in the jungle with the Three Witches and the voodoo men and women in Act II, Scene 2 of the Federal Theatre Project production of Macbeth at the Lafayette Theatre, Harlem


Lady Macbeth calming the guests at Macbeth’s palace in Act II, Scene 1


Charles Collins (Macduff) and Maurice Ellis (Macbeth) in Act III, Scene 4


Macduff hailing victory over Macbeth in Act III, Scene 4


Friday, 18 September 2026

Premiere of the opera Macbeth by the British composer, conductor, and record producer Lawrance Collingwood (1887–1982), at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, on April 12, 1934.

A scene from the Premiere of the opera Macbeth by the British composer, conductor, and record producer Lawrance Collingwood (1887–1982), at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, on April 12, 1934.




Saturday, 12 September 2026

Fru Inger til Østraat (Lady Inger of Ostrat, 1854) written by Henrik Ibsen (1828 - 1906) and produced on 25 February 1931, probably at the Nationaltheatret in Norway.

   Scenes from Fru Inger til Østraat (Lady Inger of Ostrat, 1854) written by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828 - 1906) and produced  on 25 February 1931, probably at the Nationaltheatret in Norway.

   Lady Inger. Historical drama in five acts had its premiere at The Norwegian Theatre in Bergen 2 January 1855, and was first published as a serial in the weekly magazine Illustreret Nyhedsblad No. 22–34, 1857. 

Participants:
Sigurd Eldegard        Bear
Gerd Grieg        Eline Gyldenløve
Johanne Dybwad        Mrs. Inger
Tryggve Larssen        Farm bailiff Einar Huk
Hans Jacob Nilsen        The house servant Finn
Henrik Børseth        Jens Bjelke
Olafr Havrevold        Nils Stenssøn
Egil Eide        Olaf Skaktavl
August Oddvar        Privy Councillor Nils Lykke
DIRECTION        Johanne Dybwad
SCENOGRAPHY        Oliver Neerland
COSTUME DESIGN        Jacob Von Der Lippe





Mrs. Inger to Ostråt (1857, Mrs. Inger to Ostrat), Premiere 25 February 1931
August Oddvar as Nils Lykke    Johanne Dybwad as Mrs. Inger


Wednesday, 9 September 2026

Revisor (The Government Inspector), written by Nikolai Gogol (1809 - 1952) and produced under the direction of Vs. Meyerhold (1874 -1940) at The State Theater named after Vs. Meyerhold, Moscow, on December 9, 1926.

   Scenes from Revisor ("The Inspector General" or "The Government Inspector"), written by the Russian playwright Nikolai Gogol (1809 - 1952) and produced under the direction of Vsevolod Emilevich Meyerhold (1874 -1940) at The State Theater named after Vs. Meyerhold, Moscow, on December 9, 1926.

   On December 9, 1926, after nearly two years of extensive research and rehearsals, Vsevolod Meyerhold premiered his Inspector General (Revizor). Though the production provoked a tempest in the Soviet press and was much discussed by the critics of both liberal and Communist bent, foreign—mostly American—witnesses had no doubt about...


Anti-illusionist stage from Vsevolod Meyerhold's production of Nikolay Gogol's Revizor, Moscow, 1926

The final scene of the play The Government Inspector


 When Meyerhold directed Revisor in the 1920s, he found a means of showing a frozen group of people. He had them replaced with wax figures. 





The Government Inspector in Meyerhold's theatre. Articles.

Tuesday, 8 September 2026

Aju ja Mikko (Anu and Mikko), written by Kersti Bergroth, and performed at the Finnish National Theatre, Helsinki, on 2 October 1932.

   Scenes from Aju ja Mikko (Anu and Mikko), written by the Finnish writer Kersti Bergroth, and performed at the Finnish National Theatre, Helsinki, on 2 October 1932.

   Kersti Bergroth's Finnish play Anu and Mikko is a wonderful, wise and warm comedy. It is an unsweetened description of a village community written in the Antrea dialect that survives the setbacks, turmoil and divisions caused by the global recession through consensus and negotiation.

   Kersti Solveig Bergroth 1886 – 1975) was a Finnish writer who is best remembered for her plays Anu and Mikko and Kuparsaare Antti, written in the Karelian dialect. His career as a writer was unusually long, more than 60 years.




Sunday, 6 September 2026

Gas (1918) written by Georg Kaiser (1878 - 1945) and produced at Staatliches Schillertheater, Berlin, 1928,

Scenes from Gas  (1918) written by the German playwright Georg Kaiser (1878 - 1945) and produced at the Staatliches Schillertheater, Berlin, 1928, with stage designs of a laboratory for the play Gas.








Saturday, 5 September 2026

The Man of Destiny (1897), written by George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), and produced at The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre, London, in 1948.

A scene from The Man of Destiny (1897), written by the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), and produced at The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre, London, in 1948.


The Man Of Destiny - The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre, 1948

The play, set in Italy during the early career of Napoleon, was written for Ellen Terry and Richard Mansfield, but was first performed, on 1 July 1897, at the Grand Theatre, Croydon, with Murray Carson and Florence West in the principal roles.

Friday, 4 September 2026