Guest Lecture: The First “Professional” Russian Theater

This lecture would focus on the rise of the first “professional” theater – Theater of Tsar Alexis, 1672 – 76 – in Russia in the seventeenth century. We will examine the origins of the first Russian dramas and their link to the Western Medieval theatrical repertoire. We also will review distinctive religious adjustments and alterations made by the Russian authors to the traditional Western dramas to fulfill the needs of an Orthodox audience.