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Soviet Theatre during the Thaw: Aesthetics, Politics and Performance

Hardback

Main Details

Title Soviet Theatre during the Thaw: Aesthetics, Politics and Performance
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Jesse Gardiner
Series edited by Bruce McConachie
Series edited by Claire Cochrane
SeriesCultural Histories of Theatre and Performance
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:240
Dimensions(mm): Height 234,Width 156
Category/GenreDrama
Literature - history and criticism
ISBN/Barcode 9781350150621
ClassificationsDewey:792.094709045
Audience
Tertiary Education (US: College)
Illustrations 15 bw illus

Publishing Details

Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint Methuen Drama
Publication Date 1 December 2022
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

The era known as the Thaw (1953-64) was a crucial period in the history of the Soviet Union. It was a time when the legacies of Stalinism began to unravel and when brief moments of liberalisation saw dramatic changes to society. By exploring theatre productions, plays and cultural debates during the Thaw, this book sheds light on a society in flux, in which the cultural norms, values and hierarchies of the previous era were being rethought. Jesse Gardiner demonstrates that the revival of avant-garde theatre during the Thaw was part of a broader re-engagement with cultural forms that had been banned under Stalin. Plays and productions that had fallen victim to the censor were revived or reinvented, and their authors and directors rehabilitated alongside waves of others who had been repressed during the Stalinist purges. At the same time, new theatre companies and practitioners emerged who reinterpreted the stylized techniques of the avant-garde for a post-war generation. This book argues that the revival of avant-garde theatre was vital in allowing the Soviet public to reimagine its relationship to state power, the West and its own past. It permitted the rethinking of attitudes and prejudices, and led to calls for greater cultural diversity across society. Playwrights, directors and actors began to work in innovative ways, seeking out the theatre of the future by re-engaging with the proscribed forms of the past.

Author Biography

Jesse Gardiner is Lecturer in Russian at the University of St Andrews, UK.