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Reviewed by:
  • Historical Dictionary of Russian Theater
  • Valleri J. Hohman
Historical Dictionary of Russian Theater. By Laurence Senelick. Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts, no. 14. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2007; pp. vii + 551. $121.00 cloth.

Laurence Senelick's Historical Dictionary of Russian Theater offers readers a nearly exhaustive compilation of the key figures and events in Russian theatre, from the first mention of the skomorokhi (wandering minstrels) in the eleventh century to Kirill Serebrennikov's production of Playing the Victim by the Presniakov brothers at the Moscow Art Theatre in 2005. As part of the series Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts, Senelick's book aims to provide the general reader with background on the most significant and "sufficiently intriguing" (xii) individuals, theatre buildings, companies, plays, and topics (such as church drama, censorship, and émigré theatre). As the work of a single author—a theatre historian who skillfully describes both theatrical production and dramatic literature—it is the most comprehensive and stylistically coherent overview of the history of Russian theatre available in English.

Faced with the need to limit the scope of the dictionary, Senelick adeptly handles the difficult task of defining both "Russian" and "theatre." He limits his discussion of theatre to "the dramatic stage," though important events in cabaret, circus, and variety performances are included (xi). Opera, ballet, and film are generally excluded (although references to an actor's work in film or a designer's work in ballet may be mentioned in order to provide the scope of an individual career). Senelick also delimits his topic by defining Russian theater as that which took place "within the boundaries of what was considered the Russian Federal Republic during the Soviet regime" and produced by persons designated as Russian on their passports (xi). However, the dictionary does include a number of individuals of Ukrainian, Georgian, Armenian, Baltic, and Jewish origin who worked in and significantly contributed to Russian theatre. Although some entries describe events that took place in less populated regions of Russia, the Dictionary focuses on developments in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The Dictionary includes a chronology of historical and theatrical events, an introduction, the entries themselves, and a bibliography. The introduction, a tightly written overview of Russian theatre history, is divided into the Tsarist, Soviet, and Post-Communist eras. As such divisions might suggest, Senelick's introduction examines major shifts in Russian theatre within the context of shifting political climates and governmental structures. Fluctuating degrees of censorship and governmental control of the arts, along with changing relationships between Russia and the West, emerge as the key historical factors shaping events in Russian theatre. Further, Senelick highlights innovations in playwriting and theatrical production in relation to changing audiences, the prevailing sense of the theatre's purpose, and the recurrent problems of government control of market forces.

The dictionary entries demonstrate Senelick's vast knowledge of Russian theatre history, and his ability to succinctly situate a figure or event within that broad history. Entries include significant artists, critics, patrons, organizations, theatres, and plays that present a range of styles, periods, and perspectives. The large number of actors (popular as well as avant-garde) who are given individual entries underscores Senelick's dedication to outlining performance history, as well as literary history. In each artist entry, he states the individual's theatrical lineage, summarizes the individual's major achievements or performances, and suggests the impact of the artist on audiences or later theatre practitioners. The entry on Nikolai Gogol, for example, summarizes the playwright's activities as a failed actor but successful writer and critic in his own time, and then discusses the impact the author had on later generations who continued to re-interpret and adapt his work for the Russian stage. [End Page 475]

The entries for plays focus on the works in production, rather than as literary texts. These entries consist of a brief plot synopsis, a description of the style of the piece, details of the work's first production (or publication, when censorship restricted initial access to the stage), and other significant productions of the work. Other entries chart a particular topic throughout the history of Russian theatre, such as censorship...

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