Literature in Post-Communist Russia and Eastern Europe: The Russian, Czech and Slovak Fiction of the Changes, 1988-98 by Rajendra Chitnis

Abstract

MLR, I0I.3, 2oo6 92I disciplined rigour of training, research, and rehearsals and the sheer brilliance of its results in performance. The three chapters of Part II consider specific productions: those adapted from prose, those of the student ensemble, and Dodin's fascinating interpretations of Chekhov. Not all are given equal weight, nor are they discussed in chronological order, and though Shevtsova offers plausible thematic reasons for this, a list of the productions with dates of first performances would have been helpful. But although it is notoriously difficult to capture in the written word the ephemeral art of dra matic performance, and though Dodin's actor-centred theatre, which merges inner psychological depth with often daring and exuberant theatricality-fusing the ideas of Stanislavsky and Meyerhold-presents a particular challenge, it is one Shevtsova meets. Her accounts are vivid, detailed, and evocative, and augmented by the inclu sion of some twenty black and white photos. Her motivation, however, is to analyse how and why the productions were created. Discourse on theatre often relies exces sively on newspaper reviews and other secondary sources, but Shevtsova's research is largely first hand, and the great strength of this book isher access to rehearsals and to Maly Theatre personnel. For Dodin, just as training does not finish in the classroom, a production does not end on a first night but can be modified as itmatures. This is reflected in Shevtsova's writing; discussion of some productions is interwoven with her observations of the rehearsal process and the results in public performance. The Maly is a repertory company whose productions have long lives and are extensively toured. This has allowed her to see some at different times and places and to discuss the role of cultural and socio-political perceptions by comparing critical responses in various countries. In Chapter 6, on Dodin's staging of the operas Elektra, Lady Macbeth ofMtsenk District, and Mazepa, she shows how he brings to bear his experience of dramatic theatre and challenges traditional approaches. But in her final chapter, on The Queen of Spades, forwhich his rehearsal period was much shorter than usual, she can follow the whole journey of the production. In the foreword actor Simon Callow, a dedicated admirer of theMaly, suggests that Dodin's company, as described by Shevtsova, may serve as an inspiring model for new ensembles. But such work makes huge demands on time and money, and indeed the future of theMaly itself is far from secure, so that his hope is perhaps a forlorn one. Nevertheless, this book, though disjointed in structure, gives a fascinating insight into ensemble theatre and actor training, traces several productions through rehearsal to and beyond first nights, and demonstrates both the importance of theMaly in its native city and how richly deserved is its international acclaim. NATIONALUNIVERSITYOF IRELAND, GALWAY Ros DIXON Literature in Post-Communist Russia and Eastern Europe: The Russian, Czech and Slovak Fiction of the Changes, I988-98. By RAJENDRACHITNIS. Abingdon and New York: RoutledgeCurzon. 2005. I95 pp. ?65. ISBN 0-4I5-35557-5. 'My aim here isnot to provide an exhaustive survey of the fiction of this period, but to focus on thework of those writers who, in their fiction or critical articles, characterised themselves as "liberators" of literature' (p. i). The author of this volume pursues his chosen objective admirably and we have abook here which offers valuable insights into and analysis of three literatures as they have evolved over the first decade following the collapse of Communism. We are given some engaging parallels across Russian, Czech, and Slovak literature and Chitnis deals with complex issues with lucidity and, on the whole, balance. He bases his approach on awealth of primary, secondary, and 922 Reviews theoretical material and his conclusions are sound: 'Given that nearly all the writers discussed in this study are still alive and publishing, to suggest that any are finished would be a mistake. However, whereas the tension in the fiction of the Changes initially stemmed from its subversive engagement with dominant conventions, as this study seeks to show, once these had been transgressed, itswriters faced the problem of turning their techniques from weapons of conflict into tools of the...