The dramatist, painter and illustrator Georgette Boner (1903–1998) left an extensive legacy. Those elements relating to the theatre were donated to the Institute for the Performing Arts and Film (IPF) in 2008, and this project was concerned with creating a proper archive for these and recording them in a database. This ensures the legacy of Georgette Boner is accessible for the purposes of further research.
A particularly valuable feature of her legacy is the extensive documentation relating to Michael Tschechow (1891–1955), the Russian actor and acting coach, who is still considered important in terms of theatre training. Texts, programmes, press reports and photographs are testament to the close collaboration during the 1930s. This evidence makes it possible to trace the impact of Tschechow, starting from his time in Moscow before 1926 through to the 1990s.
In addition to extracts from Georgette Boner's work as an artist and book illustrator and documentation from her numerous exhibitions, the correspondence between Boner and both Robert Faesi and Willy Burkhard relating to the joint project known as 'The Black Spider' is also of great interest. It shows how, in post-war Switzerland, Georgette Boner was looking to turn the idea of a transdisciplinary combination of word, rhythm, music and psychological gesture into reality in the theatre.
The accessibility of Georgette Boner's legacy will facilitate further research into the impact of Michael Tschechow and how he was received. As well as into the development of theatre at secondary school level in Switzerland from 1919 onwards and the difficult position occupied by Georgette Boner as a female author and professional dramatist at the time.