Evening star., 1946-01-13
life in the Soviets
Is Presented in
Group of Plays
SEVEN SOVIET PLAYS

With introductionS By H. w. L.
Dana. (Macnillan; 81
It seems appropriate that this
collection of plays was called Seven
Soviet Plays" and not "Seven Rus
sian Plays" They are all of recent
composition and all except two are
about the recent war. Taking those
circumstances into account, it is
easy to understand their violent
chauvinistic seasoning. However,
none of them is apt to be included
in the great lasting body OF Russian
literature. The six which deal with
the present are entirely concerned
with extolling the present regime
and they do it to the detriment OF
good drama. The other one, a blank
verse play on the life of Field Mar
shal KutuZov, is pretty much IN the
class of cabinet drama. 1t is one OF
those things in which the people on
the stage get reports of action which
has taken place elsewhere.
The best one of the group is Leo
mid Leonov's The Orchards of
Polovchansk"-a play of the inter-
war years. 1t is larded with the
usual exaltation of the government
but it's characters have depth and
are not just stereotypes. The action
concerns a reunion in family the
father of which is a government
official. Seven sons, all beamlngly
working for the state, are due to
come home. They either tell of their
joyous lives or allow others to tell
their felicity for them. A counter
theme comes up in the form OF an
old lover of the mother who, in the
past, was not good patriot. He
turns up and serves for while as a
butt of jests, then is disposed OF by
the waiting police. To the non-Rus-
sian reader it is pretty naive. and
Leonov's gift of imparting character
in spite of propagandizing is hard
worked throughout it.
Four About the War.
Four of the other plays are so
much alike that, even Immediately
after reading them, I found myself
running them mentally together.
They are all about the war and are
highly melodramatic. In one, the
employees of collective farm burn
the precious wheat to keep it from
the Germans, though the managers
wife is killed in carrying out the
deed. In another, the peasants refuse
the German offer of security in re-
turn for submitting to the old land
lord, who appears as German Off
Ger. The wife of the chairman of
the local Executive Committee is
bayonetted for upholding this re-
sistance. In a third, the engineer OF
a great power dam blows up the
dam to save it from the Germans.
He and his assistant are blown up
with it. In fourth, the defenders
of a beleaguered town hold on in
the face of overwhelming odds until,
against hope, they are relieved. The
mother of the commander is hanged
and his sweetheart is beaten by the
Germans for refusing to give in
formation. In all the plays the lively
melodramatic action is halted fire.
quently to allow the characters to
make orations. We have had the
same kind of drama in war times
ourselves, but we also have a word
that we apply to it, We call it ham,
AS note by the editor of the volume
says that these works have been en-
Enthusiastically received, it is improb-
able that the Russian critics use a
comparable term in describing them
Marshal Kutuzov.
The play on the life of Marshal
Kutuzoy, by Vladimir Solovyov, was
written in 1899. 1t puts into the
marshal's mouth an appreciation OF
the attitude toward fascism which
then prevailed in the Soviet Union
Having beaten Napoleon, the ole
soldier warns the Gar against
further embodiment in Europe's wal
against the tyrant. 1t is not fol
Russians, he says, to spill their blood
defending Britain. In other words
Mr. Solovyov tells us that the mar
shall was an isolationist.
The other war play, THE Front,
by Alexander Korneichuk, is aimed
purely at the point that the recent
war could not be officered by the
former heroes of the party--the ole
civil war" generals. 1t gives Us
such a general and shows him max
ing a sorry mess of things because
he does not understand mechanical
fighting. He is presently replaced by
a younger man who comes in witt
the customary grafton. OF intereSt
to American readers may be the
reference to our own country which
occurs in this play. One character
says that he has been in America
WAS it lousy?" asks the other. Tht
first responds that he was sent tt
work in the Ford plant and goes or
for several lines about the slave
conditions obtaining there. Thi'
bears no relation to the story and il
presumably the authors free con
tribution to the better understand
ing" which is so strongly urged be
tween the nations.
AS I said, it is easy to under
stand the production of chauvinisti
drama in time of war. 1t would be
mistake, however, to rate these play
as serious literature.
Parachute to Berlin
By Lo1DeH Bennett. (The Van
guard Press; $780,
-,