From Iron Curtain to velvet curtain? Peter Brook’s Hamlet and the origins of British-Soviet cultural relations during the Cold War

Davies, Sarah

Abstract

The article assesses the significance of the Moscow tour of Peter Brook's Hamlet. It considers how far the tour succeeded in overcoming the symbolic iron curtain by examining what Hamlet meant for contemporaries on both sides of the political divide. It argues that the Hamlet tour served at once to perpetuate and undermine the divisions between East and West, confirming Iriye's observation that on one level the Cold War intensified antagonism between states, while on another it helped to foster the growth of internationalist sentiment.

Citation

Davies, S. (2018). From Iron Curtain to velvet curtain? Peter Brook’s Hamlet and the origins of British-Soviet cultural relations during the Cold War. Contemporary European History, 27(4), 601-626. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0960777318000395

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 31, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jul 23, 2018
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jan 26, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 26, 2018
• Journal: Contemporary European History
• Print ISSN: 0960-7773
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-2171
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 601-626
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0960777318000395
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1335949