Blue Blouse (1923-1928)

In many ways, the theatre of the Blue Blouse (Sinaiaia Bluza) was typical of Russian performance in the post-Revolutionary period. Using whatever materials were available, it attempted to create a new type of performance. Overtly political, it employed avant-garde as well as popular techniques. Energetically (and successfully) striving to reach a mass audience, it was created by both theatrical specialists and previously untrained personnel. Socially, if not artistically, Blue Blouse could almost be considered a “movement”: At its height, it probably involved more than 100,000 people. Before it was officially disbanded in 1928, the Blue Blouse had achieved an international reputation and was being emulated in other countries. Today it is almost forgotten.