Vladimir Simonov was chief of the U.S. bureau of Novosti, the Soviet press agency, when he wrote this for the Humana Festival’s 10th anniversary in 1985. He is currently a political commentator for the Russian news agency.

Having spent several years in the U.S. as a Soviet reporter I confidently assumed that I had a pretty good idea of the state of contemporary American theatre. I interviewed Arthur Miller and Joseph Papp, did reviews of new Broadway productions, and covered the joint workshops conducted by Soviet and American playwrights.

But the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre in Louisville helped me discover a new dimension of American theatre. Indeed, a powerful and fresh spring of dramatic art wells up in Louisville, convincing a foreign observer of its vitality and high artistic standards.

The festival, to my mind, provides an acute view of American times. It transcends the laser beams used for special effects and the score of four-letter words per minute that permeate many Broadway productions. In the plays staged by Actors Theatre, America of the ‘80s speaks about its worries and joys, trying to explain itself to itself.

From the point of view of a Soviet journalist, not all plays shown at the festival enrich the spectator spiritually. Isn’t it amazing that in the year of the 40th anniversary of the Allied victory, the ninth festival should open with a play depicting "the sufferings" of a former anti-Nazi fighter in the GDR "torture chamber"? Nevertheless, I believe that the festival as a whole creates an honest picture of the American way of life, a way which does not necessarily fascinate everybody.

The main thing is that our differences, including artistic tastes, not be resolved by a nuclear bomb. So it may be comforting to know that Teatr, the Soviet Union’s theatrical monthly, is going to publish translations of three plays from last year’s festival.