Nikolay Pavlovich Akimov

Nikolay Pavlovich Akimov (born April 16 [April 3, Old Style], 1901, Kharkov, Ukraine, Russian Empire [now Kharkiv, Ukraine]—died Sept. 6, 1968, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) was a scenic designer and producer, known for the diversity of his bold experiments in stage design and dramatic interpretation—most especially for his cynical reinterpretation of Hamlet (1932), in which the king’s ghost was represented as a fiction cunningly devised by Hamlet, Ophelia was portrayed as intoxicated rather than mad, and her drowning was depicted as the result of a drunken orgy.

Akimov’s design career began in 1922. He worked chiefly with Russian dramas, in which he combined cinematic with theatrical methods. His notorious version of Hamlet, his first venture as a producer, caused vehement reaction and was eventually withdrawn from distribution. From 1935 to 1949 and after 1955, Akimov was chief producer of the Leningrad Comedy Theatre. He also became professor and head of the faculty for design and production at the Leningrad Theatrical Institute from 1960.