Yuly Aykhenwald in the debate about the theatre. Article one

The article, for the first time ever, examines in detail the route of Yuly Isaevich Aykhenwald (1872–1928) as a theatre critic. A review of his publications in the journal “The Russian Thought” (“Russkaya Mysl”) about theatre performances is given; the evolution of his aesthetic views which finally led to his “negation of the theatre” (antitheatricality) is traced; the role of a critic in the pre-revolutionary discussions about the theatre is analysed; closely examined is the attitude of his contemporaries, such as the famous theatre critics (Nikolai Efros) and theatrical figures (Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Nikolai Evreinov, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Nikolai Popov and others), to his stance in 1900–1910s.