Dramas of Nikolai Khalezin: politics in the theatrical mask

Abstract

The article focuses on the literary works of Nikolai Khalezin, the playwright known as the founder and artistic director of the only independent “underground” Belarus Free Theatre. In order to trace the evolution of the author’s views, four of his plays (I Have Come, Thanksgiving Day, Jeans Generation and Conceiving Love) are analyzed. The data analysis of the works shows that the author’s philosophy postulated in all the plays does not change, despite the obvious political commitment of several of them.