Theatre

The stories of thee contemporary women whose lives have been touched by the 1917 Russian Revolution. Brilliant puppetry, film and theatre combine in this modern masterpiece exploring freedom, manipulation, social action and feminism. Latin America’s internationally acclaimed director and ensemble in a thought-provoking multi-media drama linking past and present, opening our eyes to the future.

Revolution, utopia, manipulation
How capitalist society shapes female identity

“A special, unique, skillfully made work of art” ★★★★★ Theatrekrant (The Netherlands)

This remarkable theatre performance from Argentina intricately weaves together three stories of contemporary women connected to the Russian Revolution. Inspired by the ideas of Soviet revolutionary and social activist, Alexandra Kollontai, and played out with puppetry, film, song and consummate acting skill, writer and director Mariano Pensotti’s Burning Bright in the Forest of the Night explores freedom, feminism and how capitalist society manipulates women’s identity to suit its own convenience.

An academic teaching Russian studies to apathetic teenagers views a play about a former communist Latin American guerrilla fighter, who in turn views a film about a television journalist visiting a remote corner of Argentina. Here, through each other’s mediated experiences, the three protagonists come to know the descendants of emigrés who fled the Soviet political turmoil of 1917, living lives far removed from the utopian dreams of their forbears.

Each woman’s story is life-changing, each linked to the others in cinematic narrative style. People and experiences seamlessly connect. Stories within stories emerge in succession, like the contents of a Russian ‘Babushka’ doll. History and present collide in a compelling drama of political ideas, reminding us of Lenin’s famous question about society: “What is to be done?”