The influence of Christian Orthodox thought on Stanislavski’s theatrical legacy

Abstract

Expressed through many Orthodox concepts, such as ‘soul’, ‘heart’, ‘love’, ‘beauty’ and ‘truth’, scattered throughout all his writings, Stanislavski’s personal religious feelings seemed constantly to have shaped his life-long sense of an artistic spirituality. Yet, in spite of this presence, the Orthodox connections appear to be neither properly analysed nor fully explained. Therefore, this paper strives to identify and reflect upon how such generally ignored but key Orthodox ideas might have had a crucial influence on shaping Stanislavski’s ‘system’.