"R"

​

Yury Butusov’s final Moscow production is this multi-award-winning work based on Nikolai Gogol’s “Government Inspector”. The play deftly delves into the dual impossibilities of both accepting reality and escaping from it. As with many of Butusov’s stagings, chaos and pathos are seamlessly interwoven, with art presented as both freeing and healing. Featuring Konstantin Raikin, Timofey Tribuntsev and Maryana Spivak.

​

This HD presentation is a part of our “Artists in Exile Series”, aiming to showcase the incredible talent of Russian artists who are now creating from abroad.

​

Butusov on “R”:

“Gogol’s play has long been a myth... And, in general, everyone already understands what it’s about... Of course, this is a play about Russia, about power, about sins and retribution. But I wanted “R” to be about what the play “The Government Inspector” does to us, what thoughts and feelings it gives rise to in us. It has long been obvious to me that it is not we who choose the play, but it chooses us when we need it. I hope this performance is about the ineradicable thirst for reality, about the search for paradise, freedom as the only true human value. There is no protest in this performance, there is only unimaginable surprise at human nature, there is only longing for time that is passing, whether we like it or not... I would like this to be a story about how art can heal reality, heal life, heal people ...”​

​

Presented in Russian w/ English subtitles.

Running time: 2hr 58m (including 10 min intermission)