„A színház terv szerint dolgozik”. A romániai színházi élet bürokratizálása a szocializmus első éveiben
“The Theatre Works According to Plan”: The Bureaucratisation of Theatrical Life in Romania in the Early Years of Socialism

Summary/Abstract: The nationalisation of theatres in Romania – initiated in 1945 and completed with the dissolution of private companies in 1948 – replaced a partially market-based theatrical system with one supported by the state. This transformation provided the economic and infrastructural foundations for daily operations, while simultaneously establishing centralised ideological control and introducing socialist realism as the exclusive artistic method. Following the rise of the Workers’ Party, the Sovietisation of Romania intensified through industrialisation and the imposition of a planned economy, processes that extended into the cultural sphere as well. The resulting political, economic and cultural (re)organisation brought about a comprehensive administrative-bureaucratic restructuring. Drawing on visual and textual archival sources from the Hungarian State Theatre of Cluj, this study traces the complex mechanisms of cultural bureaucracy that governed the reorganisation of theatrical life. It also introduces a largely overlooked body of material: the documents of the Ministry of Arts and Information and the Committee for Arts. By analysing these sources, the study highlights the significance of the literary secretary—a figure largely invisible in theatre historiography – and examines both the anatomy of repertoire formation and photographic practices within the broader context of Romanian cultural policy.

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