The Soviet Hall
<p>The Soviet epoch had added to the Alexandrinsky Stage new revolutionary themes. Plays of the soviet authors appeared on the oldest Russian stage in addition to the classic repertoire. The legendary performances of the Soviet epoch -- The Optimistic Tragedy by Vs. Vishnevsky (1955) and Flight by M. Bulgakov (1958) – are represented in the hall. </p>
<p>Both performances were unique. They symbolise the beginning of the so-called “thaw” after the decades of the Stalin’s regime. The Optimistic Tragedy directed by G. Tovstonogov and performed on the eve of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party became a sign that that the gloomy forces of suppression of the human personality had to give way. This performance honored by the Lenin Award was strong with actors’ victories. Unforgettable creations of Yu. Tolubeyev (Leader), O. Lebzak (Commissar), I. Gorbachev (Alexey), A. Sokolov (Siply) became a part of the theatre history.</p>
<p>L. Vivien had started the stage life of M. Bulgakov’s play Flight. A grotesque and tragic at the same time image of colonel Khludov impersonated by N. Cherkasov was in the centre of this performance.</p>
<p>Visitors will see the true artifacts of the troubled revolutionary epoch: the weapons, the leather coat of the Commissar, Khludov’s military coat, the famous gilded armchair in which the hero had been sitting before leaving his country for ever… Photos of the performances decorate the walls of the hall.</p>
