A powerful production based on the last words of women accused of political crimes in Russian courts.
Wild Yak Productions has today announced the UK Premiere of The Last Word directed by award-winning director Maxim Didenko (The White Factory). The play will run at the Marylebone Theatre this autumn, from 5 - 21 September, with opening night on the 9 of September.
A searing multimedia performance based on the last words of women accused of political crimes in Russian courts, The Last Word is performed by acclaimed actor Alisa Khazanova (The Woman in Black) and Valentin Tszin. The production explores how these powerful, outspoken messages from the courtroom form one of the last surviving bastions of free speech imaginable in contemporary Russia.
The performance brings together the last words of defendants such as Maria Alyokhina & Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of "Pussy Riot", Alla Gutnikova, Sasha Skochilenko, Zarifa Sautieva, Yulia Tsvetkova and activists Anastasia Shevchenko and Yulia Galyamina. Blending together their final statements with poems and excerpts from the memoirs of human rights activist and poet Natalya Gorbanevskaya and International Booker Prize nominee and Brücke Berlin winner Maria Stepanova, The Last Word shines a light on their courage, painting a timely and devastating picture of Russia’s current regime.
The Last Word reunites the creative team from last year's five-star, Offie Award-winning production of The White Factory at the Marylebone Theatre, many of whom are acclaimed artists and leading cultural figures from Russia who fled the country after Putin's full-scale attack on Ukraine.
Listings
The Last Word: 5 - 21 September 2024: The Marylebone Theatre, London
- Performed by: Alisa Khazanova & Valentin Tszin
- Concept and direction by: Maxim Didenko
- Based on an idea by: Alisa Khazanova
- Dramaturgy: Anna Narinskaya
- Designer: Pavel Semchenko
- Video Design: Oleg Mikhailov
- Lighting Design: Alex Musgrave
- Composition: Vladimir Rannev
Tickets: The Last Word at Marylebone Theatre