SOWJETBUEHNE UND OBERSCHICHT

In: Osteuropa, Volume 6, Issue 1, p. 10-22

Abstract

The Moscow public theatre is composed almost entirely of members of the elite &, as the plays deal chiefly with the milieu of public officials & 'managers', the spectators naturally see the reflection of their own problems in what takes place on the stage. The characters often reveal the faults generally attributed to bourgeois elites: arrogance, bur'ic mentality, lack of contact with people, & a tendency to take advantage of their 'contacts' for professional ends. In this respect, Soviet dramatists are in the tradition of Gogol & Ostrovski, who criticized the ruling class though belonging to it themselves. There is, however, one important diff: whereas the 19th cent Russian writers were (like the majority of contemporary western authors) profound pessimists, Soviet writers are essentially optimists, despite their often bitter criticism of the present society. This is due chiefly to their faith in the Communist Party, deus ex machina which will eventually make everything right. (Translated by Z. Dana from IPSA).