Les Spectacles francophones à la cour de Russie (1743–1796): l'invention d'une société by Alexeï Evstratov (review)

Alexeï Evstratov's major study of theatre in the second half of the eighteenth century has at its centre the connection between theatre and the world and the way theatre was used in Catherine the Great's Russia to change aspects of the world beyond the fourth wall. Although the book covers the timespan from 1743 (the year of the arrival in Russia of the first French troupe) until 1796, its aim is to show that French-language theatre was at the heart of the theatrical and political project of Catherine II (r. 1762–96). From the middle of the eighteenth century, the Russian court, Evstratov states, was accused abroad of being no more than a simulacrum that was not representative of the country. Furthermore, these voices contended, good society did not exist in Russia. Catherine used French theatre to change this image: Russia was inscribing itself into a broader European tradition, although local constellations gave theatrical life its own character in Russia. (The same is of course the case for most instances of cultural transfer, including the spread of francophonie in Russia.) Catherine also used theatre for more domestic image politics, to advance her ideas of social engineering. Plays were important tools for instructing her subjects, especially newly emerging élites. In his exploration of how theatre was instrumental in the negotiation of boundaries, Evstratov describes the town and the court as imagined communities. Although Benedict Anderson's ever-popular term applies more strictly to communities that must be imagined because they are too large for members to know one another than to the relatively small world of the court, the court was of course engaged in identity creation and affirmation, and imagining itself as part of a larger community of courtly and noble European life. (This was not always successful: Catherine failed to convince Paris to send her the best actors, as St Petersburg was considered a rather remote outpost of the francophone cultural empire and great actors were deemed more useful closer to home.) The book examines whether there were several publics, what is known about the reception of the francophone repertoire, and the relationship and structuring of spaces of sociability. The structuring of spaces is explored literally, with detailed descriptions and images of the theatrical venues that paint a lively picture of their layouts, the politics of space in the auditorium, the usual routine surrounding a performance, and the rules of access to the theatre. Quantitative material covering languages of plays, genre, most-played authors, and so on, gives an extra dimension to the discussion. The Appendices, which list details of works performed in French at the court during Catherine II's reign and the actors, are a particularly useful feature of the book. These tables will provide an invaluable resource for scholars of the history of Russian theatre. In sum, this book will be an important reference work for anyone wishing to study Russian theatrical history and francophone theatre in Europe.