A play about people who want power, and what they are willing to do to get it.

Off the Ground’s senior group presented this modern tale of corruption, lies and stupidity. A small Russian
town is trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of drunk, frequently inept and ridiculous politicians who have fought and cheated their way to the top. They push propaganda, they intimidate their people, they threaten the media - all to maintain their ill-gotten positions of power.

When Ilya, a shell-shocked soldier who can no longer drink, returns from the front lines in Chechnya, he is hailed as a hero. Caught in the eye of a political tornado, he is pulled from side to side as the leaders of his hometown manipulate him to further their own agendas.

First performed by the RSC, this hilarious, some say populist, play is more relevant in our current political climate than ever before. Inspired by Gogolian comedy, it cuts to the core of small-town bureaucracy, with eerie echoes of a larger national problem.

Written by Michail and Vyachislav Durnenkov.
Translated by Nina Raine.
Directed by Dan Meigh, Eleanor Martin and Connor Wray.