Lithuanian Drama in the Brezhnev Era: The Two Cases of the Theater of the Absurd
Lithuanian Drama in the Brezhnev Era: The Two Cases of the Theater of the Absurd
Author(s): Aušra MartišiūtėSubject(s): Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Language and Literature Studies, Lithuanian Literature, Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism, Cold-War History, Drama
Published by: Latvijas Universitātes Literatūras, folkloras un mākslas institūts
Keywords: Kazys Saja; Arvydas Ambrasas; Regimantas Midvikis; Samuel Beckett; Soviet censorship; Lithuanian theater;
Summary/Abstract: This article focuses on the context and time when the first two plays of the Theater of the Absurd were staged in Lithuania. The aim of the article is to answer the following questions: what dramatic experiences existed in the Soviet era, in what ways playwrights were trying to communicate with the reader/viewer, what message was formulated and conveyed in the plays, and how the expression of drama has changed since the Soviet era. By focusing on two cases of the Theater of the Absurd – Kazys Saja’s Mamutų medžioklė (The Mammoth Hunt) and Arvydas Ambrasas and Regimantas Midvikis’s Duobė (The Pit) –, this article examines the period in question and the collective consciousness of the playwrights’ contemporaries as seen and revealed in the plays and performances.
Journal: Letonica
- Issue Year: 2023
- Issue No: 52
- Page Range: 8-30
- Page Count: 23
- Language: English