A.S. Pushkin Moscow Drama Theater

Main article: Theaters in Russia

1950: The Chamber Theater was renamed the Pushkin Moscow Drama Theater

In August 1950, the Chamber Theater was renamed the A.S. Pushkin Moscow Drama Theater.

1949: Tairov dismissed from the theater during the fight against cosmopolitanism

On August 26, 1946, a resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks was issued, practically prohibiting foreign drama. On May 9, 1949, during a campaign to combat cosmopolitanism, Tairov was dismissed from the Chamber Theater, despite the fact that shortly before that, in connection with the 30th anniversary of the theater, he was awarded the Order of Lenin. At the end of June of the same year, together with Alice Koonen, he was transferred to the Vakhtangov Theater, but did not start work.

1924: Tairov's production of Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorms"

Bakhrushinsky Museum

Bakhrushinsky Museum

Bakhrushinsky Museum

1921: The failure of the production of "Romeo and Juliet," with costumes by Alexandra Extra

The great success was that one of the leading Russian design artists, Alexandra Exter,... accepted Tairov's invitation to work at the Chamber Theater. As Tairov himself later wrote about Exter, she was "an artist with exceptional sensitivity," who responded to his "stage plans and at the very first steps discovered a wonderful sense of the effective element of the theater." Exter belonged "to those few figures of the Russian avant-garde who managed to overcome the framework of the picturesque surface and organize forms in their interaction with space... She did not suffer from asceticism and laconicity... So, in her design of Romeo and Juliet, Exter resorted to luxury and splendor, which were "too visual" for Tairov. With its decorative excesses,... this design was more suitable for a pantomime or circus and the production failed. Some critics even spoke of 1921's "Romeo and Juliet" as "the bitterest page" in the history of the Chamber Theatre. " Tairov "did not cease to admire Exter, but they never collaborated in the theater again. It is clear why Tairov welcomed the arrival of architect Alexander Vesnin at the Chamber Theater... in 1920.... Vesnin had the restraint and sense of measure that Exter lacked... Exter could get caught up in the luxury of forms not always achievable in post-revolutionary theatre... " (John E. Boult)

Sketches of costumes for Spanish dance by Alexandra Exter are written expressively. Female figures are shown in impetuous movement, sharp contrasts of colors and fragmentation of forms enhance the dynamics and convey the temperament of Spanish dance. "Alexandra Exter was one of the first to address the volumetric-cubist decision of costumes on stage. The carcass of the suits, transferred on sketches, during manufacture was achieved by using wire, hard lining and painting folds, "said Inna Voitova, senior researcher at the Bakhrushinsky Museum, in 2023.

Exter A.A. Spanish dance. Sketch of a female costume, for the performance of U. Shekspir "Romeo and Juliet" for the Moscow Chamber Theater under the direction of Alexander Tairov, 1921 Bakhrushinsky Museum

Exter A.A. Spanish dance. Sketch of a female costume for the performance of U. Shekspir "Romeo and Juliet" for the Moscow Chamber Theater under the direction of Alexander Tairov, 1921 Bakhrushinsky Museum

1914: Opening of the Tairov Chamber Theater with the performance of'Sakuntala' based on the work of Kalidasa

In 1914, the Moscow Chamber Theater Tairov opened with the performance 'Sakuntala' based on the work of the ancient Indian poet and playwright Kalidasa. It was while working on this production directed by Alexander Tairov that the painter Pavel Kuznetsov revealed himself as an original theater artist.

Sketch by P. Kuznetsov for the performance of the Sakuntal Chamber Theater, 1914 Bakhrushinsky Museum

Sketch of a female costume for the performance of Sakuntal at the Moscow Chamber Theater in 1914. Artist - P. Kuznetsov. Bakhrushinsky Museum