In 1916, Alexander Tairov staged Innokenty Annensky's tragedy Thamyris Kitharodos, a poster of which can be seen to the right.

The costumes and sets were designed by Alexandra Exter. Tairov wished to present Annensky's play in as stripped down a version as possible, and his success in doing so came in no small part from Exter's remarkable cubist set. Tairov arranged his actors in sculpturally effective poses, akin to those of a corps de ballet, that harmonized perfectly with the set, and he had a remarkable Thamyris in the talented Georgian actor Nikolai Tseretelli (below left).

Exter's sketches for costume designs look extremely elaborate (below), but, in their execution, they were fairly simple, barely covering the actors bodies. Although color photographs are not available to illustrate this, the production was also notable for its use of complicated colored lighting called for in the play.

Thamyris Kitharodos 1 2