Revolutionary Acts: Amateur Theater and the Soviet State, 1917-1938

by Lynn Mally

During the Russian Revolution and Civil War, amateur theater groups sprang up in cities across the country. Workers, peasants, students, soldiers, and sailors provided entertainment ranging from improvisations to gymnastics and from propaganda sketches to the plays of Chekhov. In Revolutionary Acts, Lynn Mally reconstructs the history of the amateur stage in Soviet Russia from 1917 to the height of the Stalinist purges. Her book illustrates in fascinating detail how Soviet culture was transformed during the new regime's first two decades in power.

Of all the arts, theater had a special appeal for mass audiences in Russia, and with the coming of the revolution it took on an important role in the dissemination of the new socialist culture. Mally's analysis of amateur theater as a space where performers, their audiences, and the political authorities came into contact enables her to explore whether this culture emerged spontaneously "from below" or was imposed by the revolutionary elite. She shows that by the late 1920s, Soviet leaders had come to distrust the initiatives of the lower classes, and the amateur theaters fell increasingly under the guidance of artistic professionals. Within a few years, state agencies intervened to homogenize repertoire and performance style, and with the institutionalization of Socialist Realist principles, only those works in a unified Soviet canon were presented.

Genres: History, Russia, Art

263 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2000

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not the audience for this book.

The author expects you to know some basic timelines and facts about Soviet history (I don't) and basic theater history. (I don't.) It is written in a very academic language, and it was hard to connect to as a narrative story.

Even basic things like... NEP. NEPmen and NEP is said so many times. I finally figured out it was New Economic Program, which came just before the first of Stalin's 5 Year Plan. The animosity between a worker and a peasant wasn't explained either. I guess 'workers' and 'peasants' really hated each other in the Soviet state in the 20s? Weren't they both laborers? I guess not. I could be wrong though. Also, I don't know what 'Naturalism' is in terms of theater concepts. I just don't.

And so, this might be a fantastic book for a special subset of people. I am not contained in that Venn diagram.

Also - some of the 'theater' - in particular the Shock Troops (Agitki) seemed more like something you'd see Micheal Scott doing in some HR demonstration in the Office. Is it really theater? Literally shaming people in a crowd of 9? The author didn't really define theater well.

[Juris Sils · Rating 1 out of 5]

amateur non russian soviet theater?

did it exist? yes it did, large parts of the soviet amateur theater scene are completely ignored, practically nothing about stage design is mentioned. the book is a cobbled together collection of excerpts from many sources, but leaves one wondering, how they were chosen.

[Ira Therebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samodejatelnost' always played a big role in USSR including in the post Stalin era. But in the very beginning it was of great importance and influence. This books talks about the emerging of amateur theater in the early revolution time and how it developed until it merged into professionalism. It is incredibly interesting reading about theater of small forms, how they went on to larger plays. How they used shock form to aggressively motivate the viewers and how it was then led to be more professional including many restrictions laid on them by the state. It is easy to read and includes many examples. An excellent book on a very interesting topic. I can see anyone interested in art or Soviet history loving it.