Pantomime

A production of Joseph Martin Kraus’ operetta Pantomime was directed by Nikolai Smolich and premiered at the Maly Theatre of Opera on 15 January 1927. The sets were designed by Mikhail Bobyshov, who employed a synthesis of painterly and constructive devices. The asymmetric colour planes launched the viewer straight into the dynamics of the subject collisions. Objects of circus equipment – trapezes, ropes and rings – were active elements of the set, reflecting the role of the circus as one of the original sources of visual art in the Futurist theatre. In correspondence with the general stylistics of the production, Bobyshov articulated the technical innovations of the twentieth century. In many cases, electric lighting replaced painted sets, while the light was given in motion, intensifying the bright and colourful resolution of the stage.