The book explores the Russian amateur theater of the 18th century, or the theater of "hunters," intended for the general public in Moscow. It was on the border of folk and "learned" art, literature and theatre; in his plays there was a contraction of low and high, laughing and serious; it was characterized by developed frame structures. This theater was part of the circle of artistic primitive. With the inherent freedom of this art form, playwrights and directors in a new way implemented the categories of entertainment and theatricality, building an artistic space, bringing to the stage an actor capable of reincarnation, previously restrained by many cultural prohibitions.