Read more
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.
List of contents
- Introduction
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
- The Finnish National Theatre and the changing field of theatre
New artistic direction(s)
Private, national, and societal pressures
The National Theatre and its national operations
Caught between East and West
- Experiencing, conveying, and interpreting
The Finnish National Theatre and the Finnish press
The National Theatre and the general public
- The creators of the artistic direction
Th actors' theatre
The productions' artistic backgrounds
Artistic forays over the border
- A national landmark renewed and replenished
National Main Stage
From modern architecture to spatial exploration
A functioning family
Part II Programming, performances, and the national agenda
- The National mission driving the National Theatre's programming
Chasing diversity and artistic merit
Debates about the development of domestic Finnish drama
Crossing the border between high and low art
- High and low in the context of the domestic repertoire
The challenges of updating traditional classics
The Finnish people on stage
The Finland of poets
- Finnish history without a nationalist slant
Historical characters from across the decades
War history and contemporary politics on-stage
- Significant literary works as national interpretations
Shakespeare as a contemporary mirror
The cultural heritage of Continental Europe
Old Russian drama
- Modern dramatic classics
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
- New Eastern European drama
Rarities from the Soviet Union
From metaphor to commentary-style
Estonian history
- New plays from the West
Trying to fill the Main Stage auditorium
Relationships and cultural caricatures
Dramatic and stage celebrity
Global victims: abuses of power
Historic moments of stardom
- Social upheaval on the national stage
Pacifism in its different modes
Generational rebellion on-stage
The environment threats
- Popular and commercial elements and Ntaional Theatre press debates
From classic farce to folk theatre
An operetta causes a scandal
Criticism and crisis at the centre of public attention
- The advent of the small and the young
The opening of the Omapohja studio performance space
A new generation of playwrights
- Theatre company visits from the East and the West
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
- To conclude: The National Theatre during a time of transition
Changing times and the National Theatre's policy
The international Finnish National Theatre
National drama, national character, and collective memory
- Sources and Bibliography
Index
About the author
Pirkko Koski is Professor emeritus in the Department of Philosophy, History and Art Studies at the University of Helsinki.
Summary
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.
