Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg Announces Limited London Season

The internationally acclaimed Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg return to London for the first time in over a decade to play a highly anticipated ten-show engagement, opening at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket on May 8th. Described by Peter Brook as 'the finest ensemble theatre in Europe', casting is today announced for their forthcoming UK premiere of Vasily Grossman's magnum opus, Life and Fate, and their critically acclaimed production of Anton Chekov's Uncle Vanya.

The 28-strong cast sees Peoples' Artist of Russia, Stanislavsky and Golden Soffit Award-winner Sergey Kuryshev, who has been a part of the company since 1989, lead both Life and Fate as Viktor Shtrum and Uncle Vanya in the titular role.

Banned because of the parallels it drew between Nazism and Soviet Communism, Life and Fate, is a sweeping panorama of Soviet Society and an epic tale of a country told through the fate of a single Jewish family, the Shtrum's. From Nazi concentration camps to the Gulags of Siberia and the Soviet nuclear programme, as the battle of Stalingrad looms large the characters must work out their destinies in a world torn by ideological tyranny and war.

This critically acclaimed production, winner of the Golden Mask for best play, has toured around the world since its première in 2007, shining a light on the heart of 20th century darkness.

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Vanya (Sergey Kuryshev), together with his niece Sonya (Ekatirina Tarasova), has sacrificed his life managing the estate of Professor Serebryakov (celebrated Russian film actor, Igor Ivanov), his former brother-in-law and Sonya's father. But when the Professor returns from the city with his glamorous young wife Yelena (multi award-winning stage and screen actress Ksenia Rappoport) tensions spiral as their world is thrown upside down.

Chekhov's tragicomic masterpiece of dashed dreams, thwarted and eternal love returns to London in Lev Dodin's definitive interpretation of this classic play.

Under the artistic directorship of Lev Dodin - one of the most celebrated theatre practitioners working today - the Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg has become one of the greatest theatres in the world. During his 35 year tenure many of Dodin's shows have won international awards including state prizes of Russian and the USSR, Golden Mask Awards and a Lawrence Olivier Award (becoming the first international company to do so for Stars in the Morning Sky, 1989). In 2000 he received the European Theatre Award.

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