The Gogol Centre, an independent theatre in Moscow, Russia, hosted its last performance, a play called I’m Not Part Of This War based off Yury Levitansky’s poetry.
“We are closing our 9th season today, and, at the same time, we are closing the entire Gogol Centre project. We wish to say we might see you again and the good news is that we all are still alive. Let us remember this day,” said Alexey Agranovich, the theatre’s art director.
Kirill Serebrennikov, the former art director and the theatre’s long-time leader and founder, addressed the audience via video call as he left Russia recently: “The Gogol Centre is not a name, it is the idea of freedom. And freedom will never cease to exist once we still have it in ourselves,” he said.
Moscow’s Department of Culture announced parting ways with the former staff of the Gogol Centre; Anton Yakovlev will replace Alexey Agranovich as the art director.
The department noted that the Nikolai Gogol Theatre, which operated under the nickname Gogol Centre in recent years, is not closing but “simply changes management,” although Kirill Serebrennikov says the change of staff means the theatre will be de-facto closed.
“They have decided to close the theatre now – for our honesty, for our ambition to freedom, and for protesting the war,” Serebrennikov wrote.
