THE UNION OF YOUTH

Russian Futurism was inherently theatrical, and the Futurists themselves worked hard to realise this. Most obviously this was seen in ‘The First Futurist Theatre Productions in the World’ which were staged at the Luna Park Theatre, St Petersburg, in early December 1913, but before this there was much which showed the theatricality of Futurism.

‘The First Futurist Theatre Productions in the World’ were presented under the auspices of the Union of Youth, which had existed informally since the early summer of 1909, and was regularised in January 1910, when it was officially founded. It was, it stated, intended to be

It organised an impressive variety of activities for its members. Besides twiceannual exhibitions, there were well-attended lectures, discussions and public debates – even at their most abstruse, the Futurists were always entertaining. It acquired premises in St Petersburg where members could meet on a nonsectarian basis and enjoy drawing sessions together, and in 1912 started its own journal, The Union of Youth. It also presented concerts and theatre productions. Much of this was due to its energetic moneyed patron, Levky Ivanovich Zheverzheyev, who became its President, with a committee which included Mikhail Matyushin, Olga Rozanova, Iosif Shkolnik and others.

In 1913 the Union of Youth entered into a more or less formal alliance with the Hylaea group of Futurist poets and writers, welcoming readings by Mayakovsky, Kruchenykh and Burlyuk as well as less-known figures like Mikhail Le-Dantyu, Ilya Zdanevich and Igor Severyanin. With literature becoming more important in its programme, and with painters such as Malevich, Rozanova, Shkolnik and Pavel Filonov in its ranks, its members also moved towards book production, many of the Hylaea poets publishing chapbooks designed and illustrated by these artists.

These illustrations were often influenced by the lubok, popular prints of ‘old’ Russia. The influence can also be seen in Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova's neo-primitivist art of this period, and it was significantly to affect the ‘look’ of Futurist theatre.