Soviet and Contemporary Theatre Reviews as a Reflection of the Stylistics of the Time

Section: Media Language

When analyzing the condition of the language of modern media, it is worth to compare the stylistic characteristics of reviews of Soviet (from the 1960s till the 1980s) and contemporary performances based on the same literary source. Theatre critics note that in the 1960s — 1980s theatre as a cultural phenomenon acquired a special significance for the spiritual life of Soviet society. That is why theatre criticism of that period is also of special interest. In the course of a comparative analysis, the author identifies the factors which determine the style of the review including the influence of the performance on the language of the review as well as the connection of the style of the review with ideological factors in the Soviet period and with publicity factors in modern media. The main task of Soviet reviews was to fulfill the culture-forming function but not the entertaining and advertising ones. Such questions as genre contamination and the main tendencies in the stylistics of theatrical discourse in modern Russian media are also examined in the article. The performed analysis shows that the stylistics of theatre reviews is closely connected with the general tendencies in journalism, cultural condition and audience demands.

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