Le moi et ses simulacres. Éclatements identitaires dans la nouvelle dramaturgie russe

The article studies the plays written by Evgeny Grichkovets and the Presniakov brothers. Each of these authors questions, in his own way, the identity of young people living in Russian society which has rejected the communist values according to which their parents were raised. These young people have to face, at the beginning of the 21st century, a world invaded by violence, wars and terrorism. The huge success met by Grichkovets is due to a complete break with the current rules of dramatic representation. Grichkovets has declared over and over that he is no playwright, actor or director. He is « himself», he places his self in front of the public for an exchange. The Presniakov brothers, unlike Grichkovets, write plays dealing with existential questions in a grotesque, fantastic and caustic way. Their nightmarish stories, told in episodes as TV serials, present totally insensitive characters. Sensitive and emotional or, on the contrary, inertia-driven and devoid of any sensibility, the characters of the new Russian drama break radically with the cult of a social and moral order, the will and reason endorsed by Soviet heroes.Autant-Mathieu Marie-Christine. Le moi et ses simulacres. Éclatements identitaires dans la nouvelle dramaturgie russe. In: Revue Russe n°33, 2009. D’autres Russies. Altérité, diversité et complexité dans la Russie d' aujourd’hui. pp. 193-200