Published on: 2026-09-27
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Moscow New Drama Theatre (MNDT) marks its 50th anniversary with a loud statement: the jubilee season opened with a premiere “Where We Are” — a theatrical extravaganza and dystopia about Moscow in 2050. The entire troupe is involved, and the plot features characters from almost all the plays in the repertoire. The artistic director of the theater, Vyacheslav Dolgachyov, and actors Alexey Krasovsky, Anastasia Bezborodova, Alexey Spirin, and Ivan Khodimchuk spoke about the concept and the main theme of the production.
A Name That Became a Prophecy
In 1976, the New Drama Theatre opened in the Yaroslavsky District in the northeast of the capital. It occupied the former Palace of Culture of the Moscow Metro Construction, built in 1956. The columns, stucco, and the main facade — the appearance has been preserved to this day. However, the building is just walls; the theatre was given life by its people. The core of the troupe consisted of graduates from Viktor Monyukov’s course at the Moscow Art Theatre School-Studio. The first performance — “From Lopatin’s Notes,” based on the eponymous cycle of stories by Konstantin Simonov — was staged on January 22, 1976. The production embodied an idea rooted in tradition: to speak about a person honestly, without false pathos. Behind this stood the principles of the Moscow Art Theatre: ensemble playing, authenticity, accessibility.
The word “new” in the theater’s name was not a metaphor; it reflected the essence: a new troupe, new names, a new perspective. And the name itself proved accurate: even today, the theater lives with a sense of exploration, excitement, and creative ambitions. This line is continued by the artistic director Vyacheslav Dolgachev, Honored Artist of Russia, who came here after 10 years of directing work at the Moscow Art Academic Theater named after A.P. Chekhov. Over a quarter-century at the head of the New Dramatic Theater, he has directed dozens of performances — from the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Alexander Ostrovsky to the compositions of Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller. Today, the MND Theater is one of the few venues in Moscow where the tradition of psychological theater lives in its full depth. “Truthful human behavior, an attempt to penetrate the motivation behind a person’s actions, to reveal the authenticity of the desires and goals of an individual character and society as a whole” — this is how Vyacheslav Dolgachev explains the essence of psychological theater’s work. This very tradition was demonstrated in the anniversary statement — a performance where psychology meets fantasy, and the past meets the future.
The year 2050, which is very similar to 2026
The action takes place in 2050, but from the very first seconds, the present time is guessed, just taken to the extreme. And in this lies the main provocation of the production. The director skillfully highlights the vices of society — how we delegate decision-making to gadgets. Even now, people fall asleep and wake up with their phones in hand, and most communication has long since moved to messengers. We do not notice how the Internet has gradually replaced simple human conversation, and the play takes the next step, showing where this road might lead.
People on stage live according to the instructions from smartphones: they schedule meetings, measure success, determine the price of feelings. There is no art in their lives — it is deemed ineffective, and the Bolshoi Theatre has become a gym. Love has also lost its value; couples are matched by an algorithm: it gives a compatibility percentage, and happiness looks like a number on a screen.
In this highly efficient digital world, chance intrudes according to the laws of dramaturgy. Two officials arrive at the site where the New Drama Theatre once stood. On the stage, in the background, there is a projection of the half-ruined building. The officials must assess it for further reconstruction, but during the evaluation they find archival records, learn the history of the theatre, and meet its spirits. These spirits turn the officials’ ordered world upside down — and at that moment, the magic begins.
From the future — to the present and the past
Then time moves backward. After all, “Where We Are” is a state beyond time. The frightening year 2050 is replaced by the past — the viewer gets acquainted with the history of the theater. Characters, costumes, eras, scenes from different productions flash by rapidly — the rhythm doesn’t allow you to catch your breath, everything is so dynamic. Themes of love, the search for purpose, the role of art in human life are sounded. Poems are read and songs are sung on the stage, theater is discussed there. Simple laws operate here. Looking at the actors, you recognize something about your own life.
The co-author of the production and performer of one of the lead roles, Alexey Krasovsky, recalls how the play was created: “The most interesting thing is the process. We wanted to show how the opinion of one or two people, reflecting the view of an entire social layer, gradually changes and how a person moves from complete denial to the realization of the wrongness of life. This is not the first time we have made a play in the dystopian genre, but it is important that this time serious themes are delivered with humor. This makes them interesting and relevant.”
Anastasia Bezborodova talks about which moment in the production became the most significant point for her: “The scene where the official frees herself from all constraints and prejudices, lets go of memories, and realizes that she is a living person who wants to love and dream. This is where true catharsis happens.”
The actors’ confessions point to the main theme of the production—the ability of a person to change. Alexey Spirin, an actor, one of the co-authors of the play, and assistant director, shifts the focus to why theater exists and why it is worth visiting not only on premiere day: “You should come to our theater at least because it preserves the traditions of Russian psychological theater, tracing back to Konstantin Stanislavsky. We try to bring out the life of the human spirit—what is happening with today’s person—through classics and contemporary dramaturgy. Many viewers note this exactly: here—there is a soul.” Actor and co-author of the production Ivan Khodimchuk agrees: “Real people work and create the theater here.”
This idea of a living, real theater is continued in the self-irony that pervades the performance. Among the main targets is geography. MNDT is one of the theaters farthest from the center of Moscow, but here they easily turn this inconvenience into a reason for a joke. “We are the theater located farthest from the center,” admits Vyacheslav Dolgachev. “We have our own working specifics, our own challenges. Theaters in the center have it easier: there is a flow of people, they are visible there. We have our audience, but the geography must expand.”
Self-irony is a point of support. The play shows what will happen if such a cultural center disappears, thereby explaining: art must be everywhere. The theatre continues to create because creativity for it is not an activity, but a way of existence. “Creativity is life, it is the birth of something in which you participate,” explains Vyacheslav Dolgachev. “Art must turn the human soul in this direction, giving the understanding: the world is beautiful precisely because you relate to it creatively.”
From “The Silver Hoof” to “The Salem Witches”
A creative approach to life is also evident in the continuous work. The theater is already preparing a premiere — a New Year’s story “The Silver Hoof” based on the tales of Pavel Bazhov. The highlight of the anniversary season will be precisely this children’s production — yet another proof that the New Drama Theater continues to explore and experiment.
Vyacheslav Dolgachev speaks about what is becoming the subject of theatrical exploration today as follows: “Now, it seems to me, the society and social consciousness are very important — what is happening with people: how we are susceptible to mass psychosis, such ‘illnesses’ when we are not the ones thinking, but the thinking is done for us — and we submit to this, I would say, universal delusion. This is a very serious topic, so we are now releasing “Salem witches” Arthur Miller. We once had this play, now a completely new cast will present the updated production.” Mass delusion and loss of independent thinking are a direct continuation of the dystopia “Where We Are,” where people voluntarily give the right to make decisions to gadgets and algorithms.
This is how MNDT celebrates its 50th anniversary: with active work, new themes, and a dystopia about 2050, but essentially — about today. The theater reminds us that art cannot be measured by algorithms and does not conform to mass misconception. It lives where there is a person. Where we are.
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