Exploring the hinterlands : avant-garde temporality, socialist realism, and Pogodin’s Aristocrats

Skinner, Amy

Abstract

Soviet socialist realism is frequently constructed as the death knell of the Russian avant-garde. The combination of vague instructions (mainly concerning the required effect of the work, rather than its formal construction) with severe consequences for non-compliance restricted the appetite for experimentation amongst Soviet writers of the socialist realist era. This article considers the relationship between avant-garde technique and the socialist realist project through a case study of one of the earliest socialist realist plays, Nikolai Pogodin’s Aristocrats (1934–5). Through analysis of the temporal aesthetic underwriting Pogodin’s play, the article explores how avant-garde approaches to temporality continue to influence post-avant-garde play-texts, suggesting a model for the theatrical transitions that occur at the avant-garde hinterlands. Finally, it turns to the production of Pogodin’s play under Nikolai Okhlopkov at the Realistic Theatre and his use of the vortex form as a scenographic idiom. The article concludes by arguing that these hinterland texts, where avant-garde technique serves socialist realist intentions, form a vital moment in understanding how a legacy for Russian avant-garde practice can be defined.

Citation

Skinner, A. (2016). Exploring the hinterlands : avant-garde temporality, socialist realism, and Pogodin’s Aristocrats. Studies in Theatre and Performance, 36(3), 257-268. https://doi.org/10.1080/14682761.2016.1225184

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 11, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Sep 1, 2016
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Sep 6, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 12, 2018
• Journal: Studies in theatre and performance
• Print ISSN: 1468-2761
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 257-268
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14682761.2016.1225184
• Keywords: Avant-garde; Socialist realism; Pogodin, Nikolaĭ, 1900-1962; Okhlopkov, N. P.; Temporal aesthetics; Vortex
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/442733
• Publisher URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14682761.2016.1225184
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Studies in theatre and performance on 01/09/2016, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14682761.2016.1225184
• Contract Date: Mar 12, 2018