Russian Round-Up

John Freedman, editor and critic of the ‘Moscow Times’, reviews the highs and the lows of the 2007-2008 season. As he claims, “Whatever the world has to offer, it found its reflection on stage this year.” Some of the heading he covers are: Best Debut, Best Revival, Best Reclamation Project, The Event, Tiger Changing Stripes, Different Drummer, Missing Action, Gloves Off, Town Eccentric, Most Innovative Director and Best Production. Below is a brief example. Read the full article here.

Trend of the Year: The retreat of the contemporary playwright. What happened? New writing and new writers have been one of the biggest engines of theatrical innovation for most of this decade. This year there was not only a noticeable drop in new plays produced but, gulp, not one of those staged stood out in a positive way. Could this be an aberration? Could younger writers be taking the easy way out and merely imitating the innovators of the last decade? Have all but a handful of theaters lost the spirit for gambling on the unknown? Could "new drama" be old hat? It's something to keep an eye on when the new season fires up in the fall.