born Feb. 9, 1874, Penza, Russia
died Feb. 2, 1940, Moscow
Russian theatrical producer and director.
He acted with the Moscow Art Theatre in 1898 and formulated his avant-garde theories of symbolic theatre. Opposed to the naturalism of Konstantin Stanislavsky , he directed plays in a nonrepresentational style that became known as biomechanics. After 1908 he staged plays in St. Petersburg that drew from commedia dell'arte and Asian theatre. He was noted for his direction of The Magnificent Cuckold (1920) and for his controversial production of The Queen of Spades (1935). Condemned by Soviet critics for his artistic individuality and opposition to Socialist Realism , he was arrested and imprisoned in 1939 and was probably executed.