Damcaniaethau Actio Stanislafsci a Meierhold

This chapter investigates the presence of the ‘problem of the actor’ (as put forth by Denis Diderot in the eighteenth century) in the work (both written work and production history) of Constantin Stanislavsky and Vsevolod Meyerhold in early twentieth century Russian theatre. The 12,000 word chapter puts forward the thesis that the aporia in the theories and ideas of Stanislavsky inhibits any solution to the problem, while Meyerhold’s writings and work succeed in attempting to release the actor from the problem. It examines precisely how Meyerhold’s was able to do this.