A woman’s felt and silk hat is part of the stage costume of Mrs Piper, the protagonist of the play “Mrs Piper Investigating”, based on the play by British playwright Jack Popplewell. The play tells a story of a woman who is fascinated by murder investigations and dreams of becoming a private detective. The main role in the play was performed by Vera Petrovna Beskova, the founder of the Obninsk People’s Drama Theater. The hat is on display at the exhibition “A Theater Dressing Room” of the Obninsk City History Museum, which recreates the dressing room of the 20th century amateur theater.
The Obninsk Drama Theater was established in 1954 on the basis of an amateur theater club at the House of Culture of the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering. Later, Vera Beskova received a degree in stage directing and became the theater’s artistic director. In 1960, the premiere of the play “Typhoon” by the Chinese playwright was staged in the theater; a student of the Chinese Republic gave classes to the troupe to prepare it. The production of Aleksey Arbuzov’s play “An Irkutsk Story” was a landmark for the theater. The company won recognition and was awarded the title of a People’s Theater a year later. Vera Beskova staged “Mother Courage and Her Children”, based on Bertolt Brecht’s play, which won the First All-Union Festival of People’s Theaters and was broadcast on the Central Television of the USSR Gosteleradio.
The Obninsk Drama Theater was established in 1954 on the basis of an amateur theater club at the House of Culture of the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering. Later, Vera Beskova received a degree in stage directing and became the theater’s artistic director. In 1960, the premiere of the play “Typhoon” by the Chinese playwright was staged in the theater; a student of the Chinese Republic gave classes to the troupe to prepare it. The production of Aleksey Arbuzov’s play “An Irkutsk Story” was a landmark for the theater. The company won recognition and was awarded the title of a People’s Theater a year later. Vera Beskova staged “Mother Courage and Her Children”, based on Bertolt Brecht’s play, which won the First All-Union Festival of People’s Theaters and was broadcast on the Central Television of the USSR Gosteleradio.
