Transforming everyday life : the political struggles of amateur theatres, Meyerhold and Stanislavsky

Abstract

This thesis studies the connection between post-revolutionary theatre in Russia and 'everyday life'. It aims to analyse ways in which theatre was used as a means to transform everyday life. This analysis is framed around the work of amateur theatres, Meyerhold, and Stanislavsky. These three case-studies have been chosen because they represent the various movements of theatre making evident at the time, i.e. the new theatre of the working classes (amateur theatres), the revolutionary avant-garde (Meyerhold), and the established traditionalists (Stanislavsky). Three different ways in which theatre was seen as influencing and changing everyday life will be identified, namely (1) the processes used by amateur theatres to create their performances, (2) Meyerhold's work on the actor's body and his theatrical depictions of everyday life, and (3) Stanislavsky's ethical implications in the use of everyday action and studio practice. The theories on everyday life as expounded by Henri Lefebvre and Michel de Certeau will serve as a theoretical framework for the thesis' discussion.