Meyerhold and the Cubists: Perspectives on Painting and Performance

234 Pages·2015·12.64 MB·English

by  Amy Skinner

S MEYERHOLD
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N
This book not only adds to this burgeoning field but simultaneously opens up
new and uncharted paths for future practice and scholarship. It does so in N AND THE
the clearest of ways while introducing innovative perspectives and creating E
new, unfamiliar parallels and dialogues.
R CUBISTS
Dr Claire Warden, De Montfort University
Meyerhold and the Cubists is a very readable and interesting book, crossing M
disciplines effectively and confidently. The author persuasively dives into
E PERSPECTIVES ON PAINTING AND
primary sources, and illuminates our understanding of well-discussed PERFORMANCE
Y
productions from a new perspective. She should be congratulated on
E
an innovative structure and imaginative approach to the revisioning of
Meyerhold. It is a publication to be celebrated. R
H
Professor Jonathan Pitches, University of Leeds
O
This book offers a rich analysis of collage practices in the theatre of Vsevolod L
Meyerhold. Focusing on the philosophical and formal tenets of the form,
D
and supporting her analysis with wide-ranging examples from both theatre

and fine art, Amy Skinner develops collage as a framework for reading the
A
whole of the theatrical experience, from scenography and mise-en-scène to
text and spectatorship. An innovative exploration of the influence of collage N
on twentieth- and twenty-first-century theatre, Meyerhold and the Cubists will D
be essential reading for theatre scholars and practitioners alike.

T
Amy Skinner is a lecturer in drama and theatre practice and director of
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the MA in drama and theatre practice in the School of Drama, Music and
E
Screen at the University of Hull.

C
U
B
I
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AMY SKINNER
intellect | www.intellectbooks.com
Meyerhold and the Cubists
The Dawn by E. Verhaeren, directed by Vs. Meyerhold. RSFSR Theatre no. 1, 1920.
Scene 7 (‘The Square of Nations’).
© Federal State Budget Institution of Culture “A. A. Bakhrushin State Central
Theatre Museum”, Moscow.
ii
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Why We Make Art
Meyerhold and the Cubists:
at why it is taught
Perspectives on Painting and Performance
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We only have to talk to the latest followers of Picasso and Tatlin to know at once
that we are dealing with kindred spirits … We are building just as they are building.
Vsevolod Meyerhold, discussing his staging of The Dawn, 1920
(Meyerhold, trans. Braun [1969] 1998: 173)
v
First published in the UK in 2015 by
Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
First published in the USA in 2015 by
Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street,
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Copyright © 2015 Intellect Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library.
Cover designer: Holly Rose
Copy-editor: MPS Technologies
Production manager: Steve Harries
Typesetting: John Teehan
ISBN 978-1-78320-191-4
Printed and bound by Short Run Press, UK.
Contents
Acknowledgements ix
List of figures xi
Re-reading Meyerhold, part one 1
Chapter 1: Setting the scene 17
Chapter 2: Depth 41
Chapter 3: Figure 63
Chapter 4: Collage 81
Chapter 5: Spectatorship 117
Chapter 6: Documentation 141
Re-reading Meyerhold, part two 165
Appendix: Russian art and Meyerhold’s theatre: A timeline 171
Endnotes 185
Bibliography 195
Index 209

Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge the help and support of the following people, who have, in
various ways, contributed to the completion of this volume:
The Society for Theatre Research, whose generous Research Award in part funded
this project; the staff of the three major archives of Meyerhold materials in Russia,
who have been extremely supportive in their answering of questions and providing of
materials, particularly Alexandra Tuchinskaya, Maria Cherkavskaya, Anna Romanenko
and Elena Giritch; Valeria Butler, who has taught me Russian, and Natalie Vinokurova,
whose translation expertise has been invaluable; Patricia Railing and Sarah Luko for
their help locating Metzinger images; George Simpson, for his thorough and dedicated
assistance with research and archive work; Professor Edward Braun and Professor Nikolai
Pesochinsky, who have been endlessly generous with their time and thoughts since I
began my studies of Meyerhold as a postgraduate student; and my colleagues at Hull, for
advice, reading, guidance and support: Professor Pavel Drábek, Professor Mike Walton,
Dr Christian Billing, Dr Louise Peacock, and Mr Richard Tall.
Last but by no means least: Beverley and George, David, and, of course, Christopher.
ix