Rediscovering Stanislavsky

There are a number of remarkable things about Maria Shevtsova’s new book. One is that it is a work of love and dedication, full of depth and breadth in the scope of her fresh and detailed research and vision. We see a whole Stanislavsky: the actor, director of theatre and opera, producer and administrator, teacher, researcher and experimenter, and the artist knowledgeable about design, lighting, visual arts, and music. She elucidates his character by placing him clearly within his historical epoch, its culture, philosophies, and politics. Rather than taking us through a year by year account of his development, she focuses on each main facet of his experience and work, each one throwing light on the others as from ascending a spiral rather than a ladder: so we have chapters on Context, followed by Actor, Studio, Director, and Legacy.