Partisan theater or the Albanian variant of agitprop theater?

Consulting the most recent publication on the history of Albanian theater, we find the term partisan theater used to describe a practice that precedes the emergence of professional Albanian theater. It is surprising that (even today) such a minor theatrical phenomenon, which appeared in the years 1941-1944, is accorded such an important role in the history of Albanian theater, one nearly equivalent to the 30 years of vigorous theatrical development that has its genesis in 1874, in Gjirokastra, with Koto Hoxhi. Beyond this unexpectedly significant historical weight, it is surprising to see a phenomenon that has more in common with variety theater (estrada) than with the traditional practice of theater, with its classical elements, nonetheless classified as and equated with theater. In its characteristics, partisan theater contrasts markedly with the theater movement as it developed both before and after the communist regime came to power. So: does partisan theater really deserve its current place on the map of Albanian – and world – theater history?