They met among the ruins. Literally.
Dmitry Nazarov, People’s Artist of Russia («Kitchen,» «The Challenge,» «Penal Battalion»), and Olga Vasilyeva, Honored Artist of Russia («Tobol,» «Glukhar») — a legendary duo whose names are inextricably linked with the history of the Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre — present a tragic farce that critics have already dubbed the main theatrical event of the Russian abroad. Their new work «Who the Hell Knows!» is more than just a play. It is a daring, ironic, and poignant attempt to reboot the universe.
Babylon has fallen. Humanity has been wiped from the face of the earth. Only two people remain in the entire world: HIM and HER. Modern-day Adam and Eve, brought together by catastrophe, who can’t stand each other. But sharing the apple of knowledge with just one apple between the two in these new circumstances? Oh, it’s not so simple. Save a world that’s already beyond saving? The only way is, against all odds, to learn to love.
This version of Alexey Arbuzov’s «An Old-Fashioned Comedy,» which the masters had planned to perform within their native walls, found a second life far from home. Fate, emigration, and the creative will of director Georgy Mnatsakanov transformed an intimate story into a parable of cosmic scale. The premiere was triumphantly held at the Theatre Le Ranelagh in Paris in the spring of 2024, after which audiences across Europe and North America saw the production.
«Who the Hell Knows!» is a rare case where phantasmagoria becomes utterly recognizable. Behind the futuristic costumes by Taras Glushakov, the eccentricity, and the virtuosic choreographic solutions by Misha Kostin, hide two people. Two solitudes. Two pains. Two masks beneath which a living heart beats. This is a rollercoaster of a play: first, you laugh until you cry, and then you catch yourself realizing those tears aren’t from humor at all.
This is not the classic Arbuzov story of a holiday romance. This is a text that opens up an existential abyss but leaves the audience a lifeline — the belief that even the last people on Earth have a chance. A chance for forgiveness, tenderness, and a dialogue with God.
In the roles, whose inner intensity makes the air in the hall vibrate, are Dmitry Nazarov and Olga Vasilyeva. Direction and music are by Gosha Mnatsakanov, lighting design by Yura Galkin.
Duration: 2 hours with an intermission.
Language: Russian.
Don’t ask what this play is about. It’s about us. About the world we build on the ashes, and about the people we choose, even when the choice seems to have been made for us.
