From utopia to ideology

1920s theatre studios in Ukraine

Abstract

HANNA VESELOVSKA (National Academy of Arts of Ukraine) / From utopia to ideology. 1920s theatre studios in Ukraine

The article analyses the origination of theatre studios in Ukraine and the peculiarities of their functioning in the 1920s. The author focuses on the social aspects of the studio movement, highlighting its mass character and the remarkable diversity of people involved in the studios’ creative process. These features were represented best, in the author’s view, in the activities of Mystetske Obiednannia Berezil (MOB, The Berezil Artistic Association), a conglomerate of studios and workshops founded by director Les Kurbas. Discussed in detail are the MOB’s complex organisational structure, its artistic goals, particularly those based on postulates of social utopia, as well as the main studio performances staged by Kurbas.