“Nastia” is a controversial short story written by Vladimir Sorokin, a famous Russian writer, that was published in a 2001 compilation titled “Feast”. The story happens on the verge of the 19th and the 20th century and it focuses on the titular Nastia, a 16-year-old noblewoman. Sorokin presents a vision of an idyllic manor of the Sablin family, whose inhabitants (at least officially) are always guided by logic, care, and openness to other people. However, due to irrational events and hidden secrets, an unimaginable crime takes place during the feast organized for Nastia’s 16th birthday, after which the rest of the revellers engage in philosophical disputes… The story is filled with the feeling of absurdity and dread.
The makers are wondering what mutual hatred, stereotypes, and cultivating harmful rituals of violence can lead to. They want to tell about the dangerous instincts inside each and every one of us that are usually set free in critical moments. They ask about the boundaries of indifference to evil and the possibility of rebellion and running away in oppressive situations.
The show is created by artists from Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine. The presentations are in Russian with Polish subtitles. Some of the Belarusan creators of the show were forced to leave their homeland after a wave of repressions and now they are living in Warsaw in the artistic residences in Powszechny Theater and other theatres in Warsaw.
The show is for viewers 16 and older.
The scenic sketch shows were on the 3rd and 4th of December 2021, and the work-in-progress ones on the 4th, 5th, and 6th of March 2022. After the show on the 3rd of December, a debate was held – “Belarusan theatre and social movements in the face of a crisis”. The recording of the debate: click here.
The show is created within the “We are with you” project, thanks to the financing from the budget of the Capital City of Warsaw.