The Bear Dances
| Company type | Play |
|---|---|
| Industry | Theatre |
| Founded | 1932 |
| Headquarters | London , United Kingdom |
| Products | Stage play |
Characters (and original cast)
- Grigori Stepanovitch Orlov — Maurice Browne
- Andrey Grigorovitch Orlov — Henry Hewitt
- Elizaveta Leontievna Orlov — Olga Lindo
- Leonti Levine — Abraham Sofaer
- Vera Levine — Elena Miramova
- Father Anton Kirillitch — Henry Vibart
- Vladimir Blok — Gyles Isham
- Fydor Ivanov — Frederic Sargent
- Domna Vassilievna Ivanova — Dorothy Edwards
- Police, travellers, vendors, workers, and others.
Plot summary
Set in Moscow during the spring of 1930, the story opens with two OGPU agents searching the quarters of Father Anton Kirillitch, who has been prohibited from preaching. He shares his modest lodgings with Grigori Orlov, a former university professor dismissed for refusing to infuse his lectures with Marxist ideology. Both men live in poverty within Grigori’s confiscated state residence. Grigori’s son Andrey and wife Elizaveta—who both became British citizens after eloping to England in 1914—come to visit. Andrey, a leftist writer based in London, is horrified by his father’s circumstances and critical of the Soviet system; by contrast, Elizaveta, a practicing physician in London, expresses greater empathy and believes in the USSR’s potential. Their strained marriage stands in sharp contrast to Vera Levine, Elizaveta’s sister and a young agricultural specialist enthusiastic about Soviet Russia. Vera arrives accompanied by their father Leonti Levine, currently serving as an Inspector of Collective Farms in Ukraine, and Vladimir Blok, an OGPU officer and Revolutionary Judge. Vera proposes a visit to her collective farm; Vladimir agrees, hoping Andrey will produce favorable coverage of the Soviet Union. Grigori accompanies them. The act concludes with Father Anton’s arrest by OGPU agents.
The second act takes place three days later at a railway station in western Russia where the group awaits a connecting train. Amidst political tensions, a mutual attraction develops between Elizaveta and Vladimir; meanwhile, Andrey and Vera grow closer. Leonti harbors deep animosity toward Grigori stemming from conflicts predating the Revolution. When Leonti leaves his luggage unattended, Grigori discovers incriminating documents inside his pocket-book, makes copies, and then returns it to an unsettled Leonti.
In the third act, the setting shifts to the Soviet House on the collective farm during a workers’ wedding celebration featuring lively dances performed by spirited Soviet girls. Elizaveta informs Andrey that their marriage has ended—she plans to remain in the USSR with Vladimir. The atmosphere darkens as Vladimir oversees severe trials: offenses against individuals receive comparatively mild sentences while crimes against property incur harsh penalties. When peasants are charged as kulaks and condemned to the Gulag for hoarding grain, Andrey kills Vladimir in protest. Arrested and facing execution, Andrey’s survival depends on Grigori exposing Leonti’s smuggling activities uncovered from the pocket-book evidence. To secure Andrey’s escape across the Polish border, Elizaveta must coerce her father into cooperation—yet Andrey insists that Grigori must accompany them. Confronted by Elizaveta, Leonti succumbs under Vera’s fervent pressure. Following Vladimir’s offstage funeral oration, Vera bids farewell to who she believes is Andrey but is actually Elizaveta—the Orlov family has fled. Elizaveta hints at their flight; Vera’s distress remains unanswered as she mourns her sister’s departure.
Productions and publication
The Bear Dances had its debut at the People's Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1932. It marked the first Soviet-themed play to be staged on London's West End, premiering later that year at the Garrick under the direction of Leon M. Lion, with set designs by Robert Lutyens. The London premiere drew an audience that included distinguished individuals such as British Cabinet members like Walter Runciman, leading Members of Parliament, and diplomatic representatives from abroad. The production ran from 31 October through 5 November 1932 but was cut short after only eight performances, partly due to censorship cuts. In the late 1930s, it experienced more favorable revivals within repertory theatres across Northern England, including a Manchester Repertory staging featuring Katherine Hynes as the lead. The script was published in May 1933 by Cassell and Company, accompanied by a substantial Introduction titled 'The Gospel According to St Marx,' in which Lucas critiqued Soviet Communism and defended his work against detractors. The original manuscript is preserved in the Leon M. Lion Collection at the University of Rochester, USA.
Political background
During the interwar period, admiration for the Soviet Union was often labeled as the fashionable trahison des clercs. Conceived amid this ideological climate, The Bear Dances served as a critical commentary at a time when leftist thought was gaining traction at Cambridge University. Although Lucas sought an impartial perspective—the play underwent scrutiny by a former British Embassy official stationed in Moscow—the depiction of Soviet society is unflinchingly severe, emphasizing themes of fear, injustice, and repression. The title itself symbolizes subjugation and captivity. Lucas maintained that Moscow’s issue was not Communism per se but its corrupted manifestation: "This pseudo-Communism of the Kremlin is perhaps the most gigantic sham in history," having merely replaced one ruling power with another, sustaining inequality through violence.
Reception
While critics acknowledged the play’s relevance to contemporary issues concerning Soviet Russia and lauded its direction, performances, and design elements, many found The Bear Dances hindered by excessive ideological exposition on both sides. Ivor Brown identified its flaw as repetitive moralizing, whereas John Pollock suggested that significant editing could have enhanced its effectiveness. The Stage highlighted the compelling nature of pivotal scenes such as the trial and escape sequences, a sentiment echoed by Harold Hobson in an early critique. Conversely, Henri Barbusse writing for The Daily Worker condemned the play for portraying "slanderous caricatures" of the USSR—a judgment Lucas described as "too unnerving." Director Theodore Komisarjevsky regarded it as the sole authentic English drama about the USSR he had encountered and expressed interest in mounting his own production.
Later writing on Russia and the Soviets
Lucas returned to Soviet-related subjects in his two-part essay A Week of Berlin, published in the Manchester Guardian in 1948 and later expanded within The Greatest Problem, and Other Essays (1960). These works reflected on his tenure as a British Council lecturer during the Berlin Blockade. He recounted being shown a confidential map at Bletchley Park outlining territories that Roosevelt had conceded to Soviet control. Lucas portrayed Berlin as a vital emblem for Europe—a "breakwater for the West" and a "beacon for the East"—arguing that maintaining control over Berlin was imperative since negotiations or compromises with Moscow were ineffective.
Additional resources
- Nicholson, Steve, British Theatre and the Red Peril: Depictions of Communism, 1917–45 (Exeter University Press, 1999)