THEATRE IN RUSSIA

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29891, 3 August 1962, Page 3

THEATRE IN RUSSIA

“Unequalled In World” Russian keenness for the theatre meant packed audiences at every show in spite of no advertising and only 48 hows’ notice, Mr E. Edgley, tour manager for the Bolshoi Ballet, said yesterday. The Russian theatre was unequalled in the world for uniformity of good entertainment. Nowhere else in the world were people so enthusiastic about the theatre, Mr Edgley said. He .attributed this to schooling, which made attendance at pilays part of the curriculum. Children between seven and 10 saw fairy stories and fables, and from 10 to 15 they saw the plays of Pushkin and other national playwrights, as well as plays from overseas, from Shakespeare to Mark Twain’s "Tom Sawyer.” Five theatres in Moscow; and 265 elsewhere in Russia, were for children's shows only. For those over 15, the plays were even more advanced, and included works in the current trend.

“When they tell a love story it is not in a hard way. They make it something beautiful, as in Romeo and Juliet,” Mr Edgley said. This did not mean the Russians were not very realistic. On each of his« four visits to Moscow there had been modern plays from Russia and overseas! including “Death of a Salesman." Films, although “heavy and dramatic” by Western standards. enioyed great popularity, Mr Edgley said. He saw two illustrating the Moodshed and .futility of war. Circuses in Russia had an artistry equal to the artistry of their ballet dancers. “If we are to give that' same impact to our theatres in Australia and New Zealand we will need to bring shows like this twice a year,” Mr Edgley said. With a "very close association” now established, plans for future tours were promising. These included a dance ensemble group of 55 that might come here in June, July, and August next year.