INOSTRANKA

Bird&Carrot productions, Developing Artists foundation and Msquared present the world premiere of Maxim Didenko's performance "INOSTRANKA" based on the novella of the same name by Sergei Dovlatov. Starring Masha Mashkova. Based on real events. What makes a person leave home? Politics, history, circumstances — or just "a bad mood"? The performance "Inostranka," based on Sergei Dovlatov's novella, seeks answers to these questions and transplants them into today's reality. But this is not just the story of the heroine Marusya Tatarovich — it is also the personal story of actress Masha Mashkova, her attempts to break into Hollywood, life in Los Angeles, memories of family and growing up. "Inostranka" is a conversational performance without a fourth wall: ironic, honest, funny and therapeutic. It speaks of emigration as an eternal human experience — the attempt to find one's place in this world and keep a sense of humor when everything around becomes foreign and new. If in the 80s emigration was a domestic drama, today it is an existential leap into the unknown. But the essence remains the same: each of us one day becomes a "foreigner" — in a new country, profession, or even our own life. "Let's sum up the facts. A certain Maria leaves her Motherland. Then Maria, if you please, asks to come back. One gets the impression that for some people the Motherland is a variable quantity. I want to leave, I change my mind — I'll come back. Meanwhile, I apologize, a vile betrayal has been committed. Which means the guilt must be atoned for. And only then will it be decided whether to let you back in. Or not to let you in." Sergei Dovlatov. The novella Inostranka. 1985. "I searched for a long time for material thanks to which audiences in the theater could laugh out everything that has accumulated. Laugh until they cry. And the heroine Marusya came to me (drumroll) from Novosibirsk! (for those who don't know, I lived until I was 8 in the aviation town of Tolmachevo), who emigrated to America, but emigrant life... you understand. And Marusya now suddenly really wanted to go back. I turned page after page of the novella with trembling hands to find out as quickly as possible whether Marusya would return... back." Masha Mashkova Director Maxim Didenko's authorial method unites live theater, cinema and multimedia, creating a contemporary language of stage art and opening new forms of theatrical expression. The performance has two parallel processes: theatrical, staging, and cinematic. Cinema itself becomes part of the performance, which gives the project particular depth. "INOSTRANKA" features Maxim Sukhanov, Varya Shmykova, Nikita Kukushkin, Nikola Ashurkov Creators of the performance: Playwright — Mikhail Durnenkov Director — Maxim Didenko Composer — Anna Drubich Costumes — Tatyana Dolmatovskaya Production designer — Ksenia Peretrukhina Choreographer — Vladimir Varnava Light and sound design — Yuri Galkin Multimedia — Oleg Mikhailov Producers — Alexandrina Markvo, Katerina Kashintseva, Masha Mashkova