On the Bottom is the most famous and successful play by Maxim Gorky. It was written in 1901 and premiered in 1902 at the Moscow Art Theatre under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. The German premiere took place as early as 1903 at the Berlin German Theatre under the direction of Richard Vallentin. This play had many working titles: Without Sun, Night Shelter, On the Bottom, At the Bottom of Life. In the German-speaking world, it has become known as Night Shelter.