Moral (comedy, 1909) written by Ludwig Thoma and produced at the Kleinen Theater, Berlin, featuring Erich Ziegel, Berta Rocco, and Karl Thumser, in 1909

A scene from Moral (A 3--act-comedy, 1909) written by the German playwright Ludwig Thoma (1867 - 1921) and produced at the Kleinen Theater, Berlin, featuring Erich Ziegel, Berta Rocco, and Karl Thumser, in 1909.

Act II

Wenn der junge Wein blüht (When the Young Wine Blossoms) written by Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne and produced at the Kgl. (Royal) Schauspielhaus, Dresden, in 1909

A scene from Wenn der junge Wein blüht (When the Young Wine Blossoms) written by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson  (1832-1910) and produced at the Kgl. (Royal) Schauspielhaus, Dresden, in 1909, starring Frl. v. Schlettingen, Frel. Lichtenegg, Frau Salbach, Herr Wahlberg, and Frau Basté.

Ketten written by Hermann Reichenbach and produced at the Deutschen Theater, Berlin, in 1909

A scene from Ketten written by the German playwright Hermann Reichenbach (1840? - ) and produced at the Deutschen Theater, Berlin, in 1909, starring Jacques Morway, Guido Herzfeld, Erich Kaiser-Titz (German actor, 1875 - 1928), and Kurt Stark.

Act II

Strandkinder ("Beach Children" a play in four acts) written by Hermann Sudermann (1857 – 1928), and produced at kgl.Schauspielhaus (the Royal Playhouse) in 1909.

   Scenes from Strandkinder ("Beach Children" a play in four acts) written by the German playwright Hermann Sudermann (1857 – 1928), and produced at Königliches Schauspielhaus  (the Royal Playhouse), Berlin, in 1909.

   Strandkinder: Ein Schauspiel in Vier Akten, published in 1909, presents a compelling drama in four acts. This early 20th-century German play explores profound themes and offers a glimpse into the theatrical landscape of its time. 

Anfisa (Анфиса) written by Leonid Nikolaevich Andreyev (1871 - 1919 ), and produced by private stages, the Petersburg New Dramatic Theater and the Moscow troupe of Konstantin Nezlobin, in 1909 and 1910.

   Scenes from Anfisa (Анфиса) written by the russian playwright Leonid Nikolaevich Andreyev (1871 - 1919 ), and produced by private stages, the Petersburg New Dramatic Theater and the Moscow troupe of Konstantin Nezlobin, in 1909 and 1910.

  Anfisa by L. Andreev: early theatrical productions. Pavel Samoilov as Fyodor Kostomarov (New Dramatic Theatre, 1909), Ekaterina Roshchina-Insarova as Anfisa (K. Nezlobin Theatre, 1910)

   

   The key figure of the "new drama" and the new theater of the 20th century is Leonid Andreyev, whose work is associated with radical innovations in directing. However, the "Theater of the Actor" remains in the shadows – the explorations undertaken by artistic individuals within the "territory" of Andreyev's dramaturgy. One such forgotten and, in essence, lost narrative in theater studies is the first productions of the play "Anfisa" (1909). Andreyev's new play particularly interested the acting theater. The first productions were carried out by private stages: the Petersburg New Dramatic Theater and the Moscow troupe of Konstantin Nezlobin. In the first performance (1909), the scenic authorship belonged to the actor Pavel Samoylov, who played the role of Fyodor Kostomarov, while in the second (1910), it was actress Ekaterina Roshchina-Insarova who performed the titular role of Anfisa. 

Komtesse Mizzi oder Der Familientag (Countess Mizzi or the Family Reunion, comedy, 1907) written by Arthur Schnitzler and produced at the Neuen Stadttheater in Leipzig, in 1909

A scene from Komtesse Mizzi oder Der Familientag (Countess Mizzi or the Family Reunion, comedy, 1907) written by the Austrian playwright Arthur Schnitzler (1862 - 1931) and produced at the Neuen Stadttheater in Leipzig, in 1909, starring Anna Nolewska, Milli Elsinger, Heinz Salfner, Arnold Hänseler, Gustav Colmar, Wilhelm Walter.

Further Information about the Writer

Die Möwe (Tschaika, The Seagull, 1895) written by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov and adapted to the German scene by Heinrich Stümcke at the Hebbeltheater in Berlin, in 1909

A scene from Die Möwe (Tschaika, The Seagull, 1895) written by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov (1860 -1904) and adapted to the German scene by Heinrich Stümcke (theatre journalist, 1873 - 1923) at the Hebbeltheater in Berlin, in 1909, starring Ida Roland, Anton Edthofer, A. E. Licho, Herm. Wlach, Guido Herzfeld, Elise Vallentin, Rosa Bertens, Maria Mayer, Willy Prager, and Paul Otto.

Act I