The New Russian Theatrical Revolution

As Putin continues to clamp down on all television, radio and newspaper outlets, it seems one of the few places left where anyone can voice a modicum of dissent is the theatre. Playwrights such as Igor Simonov with his play, The Celebs, and Alexander Zuev with his play, Mothers, are just two examples of individuals who are challenging the status quo and digging deeper into the ruthless policies of the Putin regime. The government has yet to censor the freedom of expression in theatres because most of this new writing is being created in small studio with a limited audience. One of the key figures of this growing movement is Nikolai Kolyada, who created his network in Yekaterinburg, including a studio theatre for new plays, an annual playwriting festival, a university playwriting course at the Urals State University, and a publication for new plays, as well as his own plays (which number over 90). Check out the Guardian article here about this revolutionary new movement.