Date: 07.10.2014
On October 7th 2014 a new co-exhibition named after the citation from Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” - “Unchanged but the Spirit. . .” launched at the Russian State Art Library (RSAL, Moscow, Russia) and at the James Hardiman Library, National University of Ireland (Galway, Ireland).
The opening ceremony of the exhibition project run by the two countries took place in James Hardiman Library. The exhibition itself became a part of the most important event of the year for the Irish theater lovers - the Dublin Theater Festival.
According to the publication by the Irish Kantar Media, “… it was the first time when archive materials from the collections of the Russian State Art Library were at the display in Ireland… the public had a unique opportunity to learn about the history of productions of “The Seagull” starting from Chekhov and up to Kilroy”.
During the presentation of the exhibition John Cox, the Director of the James Hardiman Library, expressed his gratitude towards the Russian State Art Library and noted the significance of the project that offered great challenges for theater professionals and students of both countries.
Curators of the project Barry Houlihan and Alexandra Orlova told how interesting the work was on the exhibition that helped everyone discover something totally new about Russian and Irish theater.
Lyudmila Snegiryova, who represented the Russian Community for Book Lovers, admitted that the co-exhibition became a true gift for the Community. Doctor Ian Walsh, a theater professional, prepared a special lecture for the opening ceremony where he repeatedly mentioned the exceptional relevance of the Stanislavsky Acting Methodology and Chekhovian dramaturgy for the formation of the Irish Theater.
The exposition of the Russian State Art Library presented the materials related to the Irish adaptation of “The Seagull” by Thomas Kilroy. Our Library’s goal was to show the Russian spectators a completely unknown “Seagull”.
The materials regarding the correspondence between the playwright and the stage directors, his manuscripts and theater bills were kindly furnished by the archives of the James Hardiman Library.
The Russian State Art Library expressed their profound gratitude to James Hardiman Library for the opportunity to present the materials in Russia.
