Edward Marchesi When the spotlight faded on the Komische Oper Berlin, the few empty seats were just a memory. The ten-day festival conceived by Kirill Serebrennikov had sold out months in advance, bringing together performances in German, Russian, and English and offering a window into the lives of those forced into exile who continue to create.
For Serebrennikov, one of the most renowned Russian directors in Europe, leaving his homeland marked a new chapter in an already international career. However, for many less established actors and directors, fleeing after the invasion of Ukraine meant a relentless search for stage space and financial support.
Serebrennikov's Festival: A Success That Reveals Artistic Dispersion
The program blended theater, film, and panel discussions, offering Berlin audiences a multilingual panorama. In addition to presenting works by Russian directors, discussions were held that highlighted the difficulties faced by those who continue to work outside the country, where censorship has become more severe and theater institutions are increasingly controlled by the state.
Stories of Exile: From Yerevan to Tbilisi, the Journey of Maya Dorozhenko and Yegor Rybakov
Maya Dorozhenko, 30, had built a successful career in Moscow after graduating from GITIS. When she decided to stage an anti-war play inspired by Hannah Arendt, local organizers refused for fear of reprisals: "They told us it wouldn't be performed, so I left." She took refuge in Yerevan, where she had to share a barely-spaced room: "There was only a centimeter between the bed and the wall, and I watched my actress perform on a bed," she recalls, illustrating the harsh reality of impromptu auditions in exile.
Similarly, actor Yegor Rybakov, 43, left Moscow in 2022 following online threats for his criticism of the Kremlin and support for Ukraine. In Tbilisi, he had to supplement his performances—which in Moscow attracted audiences ranging from 35 to 5.000—with work as an event host and acting teacher to support himself. "The jump in audiences has been huge, but in Georgia, finding roles is more difficult, especially if you don't already speak Georgian," he explains.
Emerging Networks: Lubimovka, International Festivals, and the Challenges of Funding
The original Moscow festival, Lubimovka, founded in 1990, turned the crisis into an opportunity: it moved its headquarters outside of Russia, creating the Echo of Lubimovka network . Since 2022, readings have been held in Paris, Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, and even Tokyo, where the works have been translated into Japanese. These events "have evolved like a snowball," says the organizer, highlighting the desire to make censored voices heard in non-Russian contexts.
Directors like Anastasiia Anisimova have experienced the flexibility of the international circuit with their show Deep Fake, presented in Tbilisi, Berlin, the Avignon Festival, and currently scheduled for Amsterdam. Despite the acclaim, lack of funding and complex bureaucracies remain concrete obstacles. "Theater in exile isn't about making money, it's about the love of art," she says, emphasizing how artistic survival depends more on a network of collaborations than on stable funding.
Recent productions, such as "Vanya Is Alive," "Inostranka," and "Letters Home," reflect the daily drama of those forced to separate from their homeland, but also the ability to transform suffering into narrative. For many, exile represents both freedom of expression and instability: "People are constantly moving, making it difficult to maintain a long-term project," Rybakov observes.