1st Edition
Finland's National Theatre 1974–1991 The Two Decades of Generational Contests, Cultural Upheavals, and International Cold War Politics
This study analyses the Finnish National Theatre’s activities throughout the decades during which the post-war generation with its new societal and theatrical views was rising to power, and during which Europe, divided by the Iron Curtain, was maturing to break the boundaries dividing it. Pirkko Koski summarizes the activities of the Finnish National Theatre as a cultural factor and as a part of the Finnish theatre field during 1970s and 1980s. Alongside this he examines the general requirements, resources and structures for activity, including artists, places, geographical position, performances and the analysis on the societal conditions. This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of European theatre and history.
- Introduction
- The Finnish National Theatre and the changing field of theatre
- Experiencing, conveying, and interpreting
- The creators of the artistic direction
- A national landmark renewed and replenished
- The National mission driving the National Theatre’s programming
- High and low in the context of the domestic repertoire
- Finnish history without a nationalist slant
- Significant literary works as national interpretations
- Modern dramatic classics
- New Eastern European drama
- New plays from the West
- Social upheaval on the national stage
- Popular and commercial elements and Ntaional Theatre press debates
- The advent of the small and the young
- Theatre company visits from the East and the West
- To conclude: The National Theatre during a time of transition
- Sources and Bibliography
The Finnish National Theatre: tradition and turbulent time
National stature and the fulfilling the national mission
Researching theatre history
Approaching the past: sources
The Finnish National Theatre during a time of rupture: contents
Part I Operational frames
New artistic direction(s)
Private, national, and societal pressures
The National Theatre and its national operations
Caught between East and West
The Finnish National Theatre and the Finnish press
The National Theatre and the general public
Th actors’ theatre
The productions’ artistic backgrounds
Artistic forays over the border
National Main Stage
From modern architecture to spatial exploration
A functioning family
Part II Programming, performances, and the national agenda
Chasing diversity and artistic merit
Debates about the development of domestic Finnish drama
Crossing the border between high and low art
The challenges of updating traditional classics
The Finnish people on stage
The Finland of poets
Historical characters from across the decades
War history and contemporary politics on-stage
Shakespeare as a contemporary mirror
The cultural heritage of Continental Europe
Old Russian drama
A generation of masters
Anglo-American relationship drama
Social documentary from behind the Iron Curtain
Modern drama from the Continent
The return to absurdist roots
Rarities from the Soviet Union
From metaphor to commentary-style
Estonian history
Trying to fill the Main Stage auditorium
Relationships and cultural caricatures
Dramatic and stage celebrity
Global victims: abuses of power
Historic moments of stardom
Pacifism in its different modes
Generational rebellion on-stage
The environment threats
From classic farce to folk theatre
An operetta causes a scandal
Criticism and crisis at the centre of public attention
The opening of the Omapohja studio performance space
A new generation of playwrights
Gorki Theatare, Taganka, and other Eastern European triumphs
The return of the Estonia-connection
British theatrical culture
Western diversity and Far East traditions
The Finnish National Theatre travels
Changing times and the National Theatre’s policy
The international Finnish National Theatre
National drama, national character, and collective memory
Index
Biography
Pirkko Koski is Professor emeritus in the Department of Philosophy, History and Art Studies at the University of Helsinki.
