The Wij

At a time when war has brought Europe so much death and destruction, and threatened our values, artists are gathering on the stage in the spirit of FREEDOM. Kirill Serebrennikov and his friends are travelling to the West, to Europe, and they are seeking new partnerships. “Gogol Centre. Europe meets Thalia.” Working with a European ensemble, Serebrennikov wants to use art to spiritually create something that is currently impossible in real life: partnerships between artists, irrespective of origin, who are united by shared values, despite everything else. Using material from author Nikolaj Gogol, born in Ukraine in 1809.

Chronicling his time, Gogol wrote down a Ukrainian myth in 1835 – which has since inspired successful fantasy and horror films. It involves reason fighting against the dark, magical and destructive forces of a soil-clad root figure by the name of ‘Wij’, whose eyelids reach the floor, who struggles in captivity.

Kirill Serebrennikov has radically adapted the material, influenced by current events, offering a reading on the war. He infuses the material with the alternative worlds of European art and poetry, which express a belief in humanity rather than the power of destruction, – despite Leningrad, Hiroshima, Coventry, Dresden, Grosny or Mariupol.

WORLD PREMIERE 3RD DECEMBER 2022, THALIA GAUSS

Photo - Fabian Hammerl