"The Last Summer" at the Theatre of Nations

The production by director Danila Chashchin, based on a script by Anna Kozlova, takes the audience to the village of Kuokkala, where against the backdrop of August sunsets of 1916 unfolds a story about the final days of idyll before the storm of the Revolution and the First World War.

The main characters are Anna, the wife of an officer; her husband, who has unexpectedly returned from the front; their teenage son; a neighbor who is a doctor; relatives; and the household staff. Their evenings resemble those of Chekhov’s characters: debates about the fate of the motherland, philosophical conversations, reading aloud, and spiritualist séances. The characters try not to notice that their familiar world is slowly crumbling under the pressure of new, harsh realities.

The performance is filled with unsettling premonitions and signs that the characters either fail to notice or choose to ignore. At the center is the theme of fading happiness, an attempt to hold on to memories of a bright time that, like smoke, slips through their fingers. The director emphasizes that the play is, above all, a story about family, the search for home, and the memory of happy days.

The production features stars of the Russian stage: Veniamin Smekhov, Yuliya Peresild, Elena Nikolaeva, Ivan Dobronravov, Dmitry Chebotarev, and others. The artistic design — created by Maksim Obrezkov, Alexander Sivaev, and Victoria Sevryukova — brings to the stage an atmosphere that is both gentle and uneasy.

“The Last Summer” is not just a play but a reflection on time, memory, and human destiny. It became the first premiere of the 2023/24 theater season and continues to draw full houses, evoking deep emotions and thoughtful responses from audiences.

Tickets for the play “The Last Summer” offer a chance to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the past, to feel both anxiety and tenderness, and to become part of a story that continues to live on stage.