The Russian Theatre after Stalin (Cambridge Studies in Modern Theatre) [Paperback]

Anatoly Smeliansky (Author), Patrick Miles (Translator), Laurence Senelick (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0521587948 | ISBN-13: 978-0521587945 0

This is the first book to explore theater in Russia after Stalin. Through his work at the Moscow Art Theatre, Anatoly Smeliansky is in a key position to analyze contemporary events on the Russian stage and he combines this first-hand knowledge with valuable archival material. Smeliansky chronicles developments from 1953 and the rise of a new Soviet theater, highlighting the social and political events that shaped Russian drama and performance. The book also focuses on major directors and practitioners and contains a chronology, glossary of names, and informative illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With fascinationg insight, the writer investigates how each director worked with and/or against the Soviet system..." New Theatre Quarterly

"A `must read' for those in the field, offered by one of few people with the opportunity, intelligence, maturity and good sense to write it." Choice

"This is a story told by someone who was there in the rehearsal halls, in the meeting rooms, and the auditoria. It is often personal, often emotional, but always incisive account of those times, not so very far from the present." Essay in Theatre

"...a tremendous addition to the field of Russian theatre studies." Theatre Journal

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (July 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521587948
• ISBN-13: 978-0521587945
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,393,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courage and Subtlety in Soviet Russia, June 26, 2007

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Allan S. Harrison "ashshrink" (Santa Rosa, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Russian Theatre after Stalin (Cambridge Studies in Modern Theatre) (Paperback)

Anatoly Smeliansky has told a tale of creative spirit surviving in an intellectual Gulag. The struggle of art, theater, and creativity to have life rivals the other world tenacity of tube worms living at volcanic ports on the ocean floor. The remarkable achievement of Russian theatre to provide intellectual nourishment to a nation, and its course of evolution during the decline and fall of Soviet Communism shines a light upon the individual's drive to be unique in an environment too often demonized in American portrayals. The theatrical stories involve names of actors, directors, and writers, mostly unknown to me, but as the story played on, in three acts, Dr. Smeliansky made them come alive. Their triumphs, failures and leaps are given a marquee exhibition in a history unvarnished . Wrapped in drama , this insider's slalom and struggle through politicians, censors, bureaucrats, and quislings plays out in as Russian a presentation as could be imagined, with hundreds of characters, a palate of hues and a landscape as small as a theater and vast as Russia herself.