Post-Soviet Drama is a thrill we do not get enough of in this part of the world. Fortunately, the Martin E. Segal Center, in collaboration with the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD), has begun mounting the series New Russian Drama. The first event took place on 22 March, 2010, featuring playwright Maksym Kurochin.
This Wednesday, 5 May at 6:30 pm the series picks up with the young playwrights Vyacheslav Durnenkov and Yury Kladiev. A must-see event, if anything because the artists sport a reputation for being irreverent and radical. Their plays, carrying such enticing titles as The Bullet Collector, The Slow Sword (Kladiev) or Three Acts in Four Paintings and The Woman of the Questionnaire (Durnenkov), explore themes of excercising and suffering violence, experiencing intense emotions; frequently outsiders and loners are their main protagonists. Both artists seem to enjoy a talent for stirring the waves: They were screenwriters on the Russian TV series School, arguably the most controversial reality show to this day. It was shot in an actual junior high school – need I say more?
The evening promises a reading of Kladiev’s play I am the Machine Gunner followed by a discussion with the artists, Philip Arnoult, director of CITD, and John Freedman, critic for the Moscow Times. Looking forward to it!
Sascha Just
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Young Russians in New York
Post-Soviet Drama is a thrill we do not get enough of in this part of the world. Fortunately, the Martin E. Segal Center, in collaboration with the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD), has begun mounting the series New Russian Drama. The first event took place on 22 March, 2010, featuring playwright Maksym Kurochin.
This Wednesday, 5 May at 6:30 pm the series picks up with the young playwrights Vyacheslav Durnenkov and Yury Kladiev. A must-see event, if anything because the artists sport a reputation for being irreverent and radical. Their plays, carrying such enticing titles as The Bullet Collector, The Slow Sword (Kladiev) or Three Acts in Four Paintings and The Woman of the Questionnaire (Durnenkov), explore themes of excercising and suffering violence, experiencing intense emotions; frequently outsiders and loners are their main protagonists. Both artists seem to enjoy a talent for stirring the waves: They were screenwriters on the Russian TV series School, arguably the most controversial reality show to this day. It was shot in an actual junior high school – need I say more?
The evening promises a reading of Kladiev’s play I am the Machine Gunner followed by a discussion with the artists, Philip Arnoult, director of CITD, and John Freedman, critic for the Moscow Times. Looking forward to it!
Sascha Just