The Change in Cultural Function with Glasnost and Perestroika

Abstract

If the ideology of Marxism-Leninism affected all facets of life, so did the change in ideology brought about by Glasnost and Perestroika. The basic functions of the official ideology—the function of legitimation of the politics of the official regime, and the function of interpretation of the social reality by this official regime—were contested. Glasnost challenged the legitimation of all state institutions, including theatre for young audiences, and their (official) ways of interpreting the social reality. Theatre for children and youth in the former Soviet Union became a forum for contesting or refuting the ideology when, in 1987, the question was raised whether a theatre specifically for young audiences should exist at all. As an institution it was so connected with the official ideology and its accompanying functions that a complete overthrow of its basic organizational structure and mission seemed unavoidable if the tiuzes were to survive under the new emerging material circumstances. This chapter will focus on the problems of theatre for young audiences brought to the fore by Glasnost, and the perspectives and comments of (former) Soviet practitioners in the field.