King Lear Costume Worn by Shloyme Mikhoels
in the Production of the Moscow State
Jewish Theater
Moscow, USSR (Russia), 1935
Cloak: Black brocade silk and green silk
Wig: Natural hair, cotton, leather
Courtesy of the Israel Goor
Theatre Archives and Museum, Jerusalem
Must Know
The Moscow State Jewish (Yiddish)Theater (GOSET) was established in 1919 by the director Alexei Granovsky and worked in the spirit of European avantgarde. Its main figures were the actor and artistic director Shloyme Mikhoels and the actor Benjamin Zuskin. In 1935 the theater won international fame with its production of Shakespeare’s King Lear. In 1941 Mikhoels became chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, which sought to enlist the help of Jews worldwide to support the Soviet Union against the Nazis. Mikholes and Zuskin were both murdered, in 1948 and 1951, respectively, during Stalin’s antisemitic purges.
