©  Larisa Gerasimchuk

This stage production is based on a short, page-long story by the outstanding 1960s Soviet playright Alexander Vampilov. The story is about a phantom, never-actually-happened meeting, the thoughts of which torture the protagonist every spring. The stage production’s creators were inspired by the aesthetics of the “new Soviet wave” films, and used the languages of both theater and film to tell this story of remembrance, of the imminence and necessity of longing, of the sharp smell of poplar trees and the blue twilight of May evenings. The action segues from screen to stage, just like the story’s temporal slices segue between the past and the present and back to the past, overlaying each other.

The “new Soviet wave” on stage is a novel idea, an experiment of sorts. And this experiment is a definite success. There are no camphor balls, just an immaculately stylish retro for anyone who’s not a stranger to some serene melancholy for the might-have-been.

Natalya Vitvitskaya, Vash dosug

The magic of a movie screen and a live person in the intimate theater hall is the right combination for a conversation about sublime love.

Anzhelika Zaozerskaya, Evening Moscow

Opening night: June 15, 2016

Running time: 1 hour 12 minutes without intermission