Abstract
If the ideology of Marxism-Leninism affected all facets of life, so did the change in ideology brought about by Glasnost and Perestroika. The basic functions of the official ideology—the function of legitimation of the politics of the official regime, and the function of interpretation of the social reality by this official regime—were contested. Glasnost challenged the legitimation of all state institutions, including theatre for young audiences, and their (official) ways of interpreting the social reality. Theatre for children and youth in the former Soviet Union became a forum for contesting or refuting the ideology when, in 1987, the question was raised whether a theatre specifically for young audiences should exist at all. As an institution it was so connected with the official ideology and its accompanying functions that a complete overthrow of its basic organizational structure and mission seemed unavoidable if the tiuzes were to survive under the new emerging material circumstances. This chapter will focus on the problems of theatre for young audiences brought to the fore by Glasnost, and the perspectives and comments of (former) Soviet practitioners in the field.
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© 2006 Manon van de Water
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van de Water, M. (2006). The Change in Cultural Function with Glasnost and Perestroika. In: Moscow Theatres for Young People: A Cultural History of Ideological Coercion and Artistic Innovation, 1917–2000. Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403984692_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403984692_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-53422-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4039-8469-2
eBook Packages: Palgrave Literature & Performing Arts CollectionLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)