Little tragedies

The production by Kirill Serebrennikov revives all four of Alexander Pushkin's classic blank-verse dramas: "Mozart and Salieri", "The Miserly Knight", "The Stone Guest", and "Feast in Time of Plague". Without changing a single word of the original text, Serebrennikov seamlessly blends classic literature with the stark realities of the 21st century. The director explores human nature through a modern lens, reflecting on envy, greed, egocentrism, and the profound fear of aging and oblivion. In this reimagining, the Miserly Knight becomes an archivist of a vast library, his son turns into a motorcycle racer, and the grim "Feast in Time of Plague" takes place inside a modern nursing home. Serving as the central musical and thematic thread, famous Russian rapper Husky performs his own songs between the acts, acting as a contemporary Prophet and bridge between eras.