Everything is alright in Alya's life. The spring has come, the sun is shining and her son Vanya will soon be back home. He is currently where "peace" is going on. But the day she learns that Vanya "has not" been captured, a long journey begins that will lead Alya to see the truth.

Echoing the actual political situation in Russia, this dark tale blends an absurdist touch with the theme of the individual protesting against the system. A poignant account of one mother's destiny which puts at heart the question of personal responsibility.

Exploring ways of disinformation and how easily propaganda seeps from the media into people's lives, Vanya Is Alive is about yesterday, today and tomorrow. It is the story of any place where people, faced with an oppressive reality, prefer to turn a blind eye to it. But is the denial of truth our only protection against fear and pain?

Written in March 2022, Vanya Is Alive is considered the most important Russian play since the start of the full-scale invasion. The show was premiered in English at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023. It won the audience recognition and received excellent reviews from renowned media outlets such as The Financial Times, The Scotsman, The Edinburgh Reporter, The Theatre Times and many others. Presented by Russian artists in exile due to their anti-war position.

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IVANKA POLCHENKO (director) Paris-based Ivanka Polchenko trained with the members of Peter Brook’s CICT and Simon McBurney’s Complicité. In her own theatre works she explores the questions of language and storytelling where the actor becomes the play's co-creator.

NIKOLAY MULAKOV (actor) graduated from GITIS Institute of Theatre Arts in Moscow and spent the last 10 years playing leading roles in the Moscow opposition theatre Teatr.doc. He currently resides in London where he develops his theatre projects. Notable works include 1984 - The Lustrum Award 2024, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Summerhall Program 2024; Convenience Store by Michael Borodin - Film Winner of Berlin International Film Festival Panorama program 2022; Kaegha, short film by Albina Mokhryakova - Kandinsky prize 2019, Project of the Year.