Nine cases in one country

We all remember the infamous saying: "Show me the man, and I'll find you the crime."

The new production by Theatre Therapy spans nearly the entire Soviet era - a time when a single step could separate a hero from an enemy of the people. One day you could be conducting an interrogation; the next, you might be the one under interrogation.

The play is based on real trials and investigations. Some of its characters are composites; others are specific historical figures - including people who are still alive today.

The case of Lina Prokofieva, wife of the Soviet composer; the "Dissident Artists Case"; the case of Yevgenia Ginzburg; the case of Catholicos Khoren I Muradbekian; the "Trial of the Seven," involving those who protested the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia and the suppression of the Prague Spring; and even the case of Zhanna Aguzarova...

Nine stories. Nine lives. There will be sadness, and at times there will be laughter. It would all be very funny, were it not so terribly sad.

"One can believe even in the absence of belief; one can act even in the absence of action."

Cast: Maria Bragina, Lyosha Kudryavtsev, Irina Ladyseva, Alexandra Bakalinskaya, Andrei Gavrilov, Alyona Karnila, Anna-Maria Dreglia, Alexei Onishchenko, Violetta Priz, Tatiana Goldich, Aurica Vrancianu

Director: Zhanna Sinelnik

Authors: Zhanna Sinelnik, Lyosha Kudryavtsev, Maria Bragina, Nadezhda Pozharskaya, Lita

Costume design: Alexei Onishchenko

Choreography: Alexandra Syrova, Anna-Maria Dreglia

Zhanna Sinelnik is a director, screenwriter, playwright, and founder of Theatre Therapy. She studied acting under V. P. Poglazov and graduated from the Directing Department of VGIK, where she trained in Professor V. Yu. Abdrashitov's workshop.

Alexei Onishchenko is a graduate of the St Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design, formerly known as the Vera Mukhina Leningrad Higher School of Art and Industry. He works as a costume designer and visual artist.

Alexandra Syrova is a dancer, contemporary dance choreographer, and stage movement teacher. She began exploring different dance styles at the age of twelve, later teaching dance in Moscow and performing in Vietnam and Egypt. She has also completed a two-year programme in contemporary dance and performance.

Anna-Maria Dreglia holds the Russian Candidate for Master of Sport title in dancesport. She began dancing at the age of seven. At fourteen, she became champion of Russia's Northwestern Federal District in the Latin programme and won silver in the Standard programme. She has represented her country at international competitions abroad.

Tickets are non-refundable.