Published on: 2026-09-27
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
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On October 31, at the Moscow Drama Theatre “Sphere”, under the jurisdiction of the capital Department of Culture, on the chamber stage there will be the premiere of the play “The Bride” based on the short story of the same name by Anton Chekhov. The production was worked on by director Ichen Liu — a graduate of the directing faculty of the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts — GITIS, as well as scenographer and costume designer Zosya Manakova and choreographer Elizaveta Matvievich.
“The choice of ‘The Bride’ was not accidental. It is one of Chekhov’s latest and, in my opinion, most enigmatic works. It has an incredible lightness, airiness, and at the same time — immense internal tension. Nadya is not just a girl who wants to leave the province. She is a person who is hearing the voice of her own freedom for the first time. I think this moment is very close to today and to what many young people around the world are experiencing,” said Ichen Liu.
The play grew out of a sketch shown in December 2025 at the creative competition-laboratory for young directors “In the space of “Sfera””, held in honor of the theater’s 45th anniversary. For “Sfera”, turning to Anton Chekhov is always connected with the theater’s rich history and its careful attitude towards Russian classics. The new production continues this line but offers an unexpected angle: one of Chekhov’s latest texts is staged by a director from China. The chief director of the theater, Alexander Korshunov, entrusted Yichen Liu with the work, which reflects a different cultural perspective on Russian classics — fresh and attentive. At the center of the plot of “The Bride” is Nadya, who from youth dreamed of marriage and is preparing for her wedding. She likes the groom; family life seems almost decided, but the closer the wedding day, the stronger the anxiety grows in Nadya. The arrival of Sasha, a distant relative of her grandmother, becomes for her the reason to seriously think for the first time about her own life, future, and the right to choose.
In Yi-Chen Liu’s production, Chekhov’s text becomes material for an open theatrical conversation. The director is not looking for an illustration of the story, but a way to understand it today—through acting, movement, pauses, and the live reactions of the partners. Here, a museum-like distance is not important, but the immediate work of the actors on the stage, where the heroine’s inner transformation happens before the audience’s eyes.
The lead role in the new production is performed by the young theater actress Vladislava Samokhina. The play also features honored artists of the Russian Federation Irina Sidorova, Lyudmila Koryushkina, Mikhail Nikitin, as well as Dmitry Beroev, Arseny Michurin, and Nikita Spiridonov.
“We worked with the artists with great interest: we analyzed the material, sought common ground, tried different approaches. It was a lively process. In the end, something emerged that hadn’t existed at the start of rehearsals — and that is what I find most valuable,” noted Ichen Liu.
Tickets can be purchased through the service “Mosbilet”.
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