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During his acting career, Michael Goldfarb spent a lot of time watching from the wings, waiting to go on stage. In this episode he talks about Maxim Gorky's play Summerfolk.

Preparation for a performance on stage goes beyond just memorising lines, learning blocking and hoping it will be alright on the night. A diligent actor studies the history of the period of the play, learns about the intentions of the playwright, and absorbs from older colleagues knowledge of how the play has been done in the past.

In his less than stellar career as an actor, Michael Goldfarb went through this process many times.

In this essay, he appears in Maxim Gorki's Summerfolk, a play about the Russian upper-middle classes at their summer homes, as their country teeters on the brink of revolutionary catastrophe. He remembers Russian theatre, theatrical friendships and after-show drinking.

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14 minutes

Last on

Tue 9 Apr 2024 21:45

Broadcast

  • Tue 9 Apr 2024 21:45

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