Moscow Arts Theater (MKhAT)

The foundation of the Moscow Arts Theater in 1898 marked the birth of modern drama. By bringing together the radically new plays of Anton Chekhov and the method-acting techniques of Konstantin Stanislavsky, the MKhAT broke radically with the classical tradition of European drama and invented a fresh, realistic theater that continues to influence theatrical production all over the world. Although the advent of the Soviet state rapidly constrained the artistic inventiveness of the MKhAT, it maintained its commitment to the finely-modulated dramatic style first developed by Stanislavsky and his co-founder Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. A century later, the MKhAT is no longer on the cutting edge of Russian theater, but it maintains its position as the premier method-acting company in the world.