Certificate of Life

“CERTIFICATE OF LIFE”

A moving story about how to live after a disaster.

Film version of Mikhail Bychkov's production and a meeting with the lead actress Vera Babicheva.

The plot of the famous playwright Ron Elaisha's play begins in the mid-1990s and spans almost ten years. Klara Reikha lost loved ones in a concentration camp, but now, in order to receive a modest pension, she is forced to present a "certificate of life" every year at the German consulate, proving that she is still alive. Each time, Klara and her grown-up, unsettled daughter Hilda meet the consulate employee Erika. Klara's anger and sarcasm clash with the officials' coldness.

Each heroine has her own drama. Klara has chosen the role of an eternal victim, Hilda wavers between her love for her mother and her desire to live her own life, while Erika is trying to make sense of a family secret tied to the echoes of the Holocaust. However, there is a lot of humor in the performance, because without it one cannot cope with pain.

You will see the virtuosic acting theatre created by the famous director Mikhail Bychkov, whose productions once enjoyed unwavering success in Latvia. Starring three superb actresses: Vera Babicheva, Yevgeniya Simonova, and Zoya Kaidanovskaya.

After watching the performance, the audience will be treated to a meeting with Vera Babicheva: a discussion of the play, a story about the creation of the production, and answers to questions. An "inside view" of the complex genre of tragicomedy.

Translation and adaptation of Olga Varshavera's play. Duration: 2 hours without an intermission

The event will take place in Russian