Revolutionary Theatre

Revolutionary Theatre is the first full-length study of the dynamic theatre created in Russia in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution. Fired by social and political as well as artistic zeal, a group of directors, playwrights, actors and organisers collected around the charismatic Vsevolod Meyerhold. Their aim was to achieve in the theatre what Lenin and his comrades had achieved in politics: the complete overthrow of the status quo and the installation of a radically new regime. Until now the efforts and influence of this idealistic group of theatrical avant-gardists have been largely unacknowledged; the oppressive reign of Stalin condemned many of them to death and their work to oblivion. In this enlightening work Robert Leach uncovers in fascinating detail their roots, their achievements and their legacy.