Russian drama and theatre in education: Perestroika and Glasnost in Moscow theatres for children and youth

Abstract

Russian theatre for young audiences has had a long tradition of professional, state subsidised theatre, with a strong educational function specifically for young people. The primary task of the tiuz (teatr iunogo zritelia, theatre of the young spectator) was to contribute to the ideological and aesthetic education for future Soviet citizens. To that end, each theatre consisted of an artistic and an education division, which, ideally, shared the power and jointly decided the repertory. Also involved were the communist party division of each theatre and the Ministry of Culture and Enlightenment, which had the final say over the repertory and production. The repertory was directed towards three rigidly observed age groups (children, adolescents, and youth), each with its own mandatory plays. The educational section was headed by an ‘experienced pedagogue’ whose task was to maintain close links with the schools and other educational institutions and to guide the students in their artistic tastes and overall world view. Aesthetic education was mandatory at all schools and included field trips to, among other places, the theatre. At the schools, special clubs were formed of interested students who helped the pedagogues: in preparatory sessions at the schools; in maintaining order during performances; and in organising and sometimes leading post‐performance discussions and evaluations. Questionnaires, interviews, and quantitative analyses were used for audience evaluation. All this changed with the politics of Glasnost and Perestroika in the mid‐1980s. The changes in material circumstances forced the theatres for young audiences to adapt themselves to the rapid ideological and cultural shifts, contesting the legitimacy of their existence as theatres for young audiences proper. This article traces how the two oldest theatres for children and youth in Moscow adapted to the ideological shifts in repertory, practice, and pedagogy, and how these changes affected their respective identities as theatres for young people.