«Oh, if only I could,
Even if only partially,
Write eight lines
About the properties of passion…"
According to the creators of the play, they wanted to make «Anna Karenina» like another of Bunin’s «Sunstroke» pieces — quickly, tenderly, and terrifyingly. But «Seryozha» is not «Anna Karenina.» It’s a play based on the motifs of the great novel, even the more distant ones. There is no Levin, no Kitty, no Stiva Oblonsky; there is no haymaking, no kvass, no sweaty shirt; there are no appetizing sterlets and oysters in the restaurant, and there is no stunning scene when Karenin came to the lawyer and perhaps experienced humiliation for the first time. There is no scene of the races, no fall of Vronsky, and no death of Frou‑Frou; and, in fact, there is no little train either… Perhaps it’s toy‑like, small. In short, it’s all similar to Tolstoy, but smaller, in short. Like a fragment.
And Seryozha is the son of Anna Arkadyevna Karenina, a boy, also eight years old, who is at the center of this «Sunstroke,» when everything is in turmoil — not only in the Oblonsky household, but in general.
The performance is based on Leo Tolstoy’s novel *Anna Karenina*, as well as Vasily Grossman’s *Life and Fate*, and a text titled *Questions*, written by Lev Rubinstein specifically for this production.
In 2020, the performance was awarded two Golden Mask prizes.
Awards
«Best Director»
«Best Dramatic Actress»
