Tuning in to New Russian Drama

Sputnik Theatre Company performs four plays for today at the Soho Theatre

by Tom BirchenoughWednesday, 27 January 2010

On a prayer: the Russian cast of Vladimir Zuev's 'Mums' had to fight to prevent its closure after pressure from authoritiesCourtesy of Penza Young Viewers' Theatre

Catching an impression of contemporary Russian drama may have become easier for British theatre goers over the last decade, but the work that has come through nevertheless looks like only parts of a wider picture. Four staged readings by the British-based Sputnik Theatre Company at the Soho Theatre at the beginning of February are the latest chance to take the sometimes chilly temperature of what’s been written there recently.

Gogol and Chekhov are great, but we don’t need that all the time

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