70x100/1/ 16, hard cover, ill., 648 pp., 2007
ISBN 5-86793-509-4

What is theater in the Soviet Union? It is theater forced to live by the rules of the state, theater caught in the clasp of the machine of censorship, which has been mechanically configured to interfere with the theater as much as possible. Why did they ban productions? Not because they thought they were seditious — they were simply afraid. They were afraid of original, surprising and new art — the kind of art produced at the Taganka Theater. Looking through the censorship files, one is amazed that theater managed to remain alive and create new productions. It was saved by one thing alone: the support of the audience. The fascinating story of the Taganka Theater is told through the minutes of the discussions about the productions held by the censors, and by the artistic board of the theater. Also examined are letters “upstairs,” articles by critics, notes by the spectators and other documents, many of which are published for the first time.

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