February 12, 2022

All the Village Is a Stage


All the Village Is a Stage
A snapshot during the performance "Pick Mushrooms"  Myra.ru.

Performance art isn't just something for an urban environment; in the small village of Fomikha, it has found a place to flourish. 

"Out of the way" is the best way to describe Fomikha: you either have to use the ferry or you'll have to come fully equipped with an off-road vehicle to get to this settlement four hours east of Moscow. However, rough terrain won't be the only wild ride you'll go on when you arrive here. There’s a new theater in town, and it's ready to show the local village in a new light.

It started in the summer of 2020, when a group of actors, directors, and artists from Moscow arrived and bought a cattle barn, turning it into a small theater hall. Originally, it was only going to be a place for artist residencies, but after they performed Natalia Zaitseva's walking play "Pick Mushrooms," which features a psychedelic adventure into the forest and discusses the relationship between people and the outside world, all of Fomikha became a stage: all of its forests, fields, and rivers.

The company went on to create more plays that incorporate the landscape. On the one hand, it creates a more magical experience and on the other, it means that there is no need to build elaborate indoor sets. “In the play ['Pick Mushrooms'], an ecologist invents mushrooms that eat plastic. If we performed it inside, we would have needed elaborate sets, but when we came out into the forest, we saw a garbage dump covered [with] real mushrooms. It was amazing,” Dmitry Maksimenkov, a member of the company, remarked.

In January 2021, tragedy struck and the original theater was burnt down. Many locals believed that the company would leave town, but instead the company built a yurt, and the performances haven't stopped. 

You Might Also Like

How Leo Tolstoy Shaped the Modern Melodrama
  • November 06, 2020

How Leo Tolstoy Shaped the Modern Melodrama

On the 110th anniversary of Lev Tolstoy's death, we look back at his link to cinema: Tolstoy is more closely linked to the history of the cinema than any other writer of his time.
The Soviet Creative
  • April 05, 2021

The Soviet Creative

In the Soviet period, artists were treated with esteem and lived comfortably, but their privileged position also required sacrifice.
Lessons From the Russian Village
  • October 03, 2021

Lessons From the Russian Village

Life in a remote Siberian village can teach you a lot about adaptability, nature, food, and, most importantly, folklore. 
TikTok Gets Cultured
  • January 01, 2022

TikTok Gets Cultured

TikTok isn’t just for kiddies these days. The video streaming platform offers a range of people, such as those of Russia’s many ethnic groups, the opportunity to educate others about their cultures.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955