Ward No. 6

Do you consider yourself “in order”? And is the world around you truly healthy? In “Ward No. 6,” Chekhov swaps the usual roles: once a person begins to think, to doubt, he can be easily labeled a madman.

This is a story about how simple it is to lose your footing where silence is considered the norm. And how frightening it can be to be “normal” when everything around you is sheer madness. Who is actually locked up in the ward—and who is outside? Where is the thin line after which the “healthy” turns into the “mad”? Sometimes all it takes is thinking, asking questions, and speaking honestly—and you’re already on the other side of the bars. And then it becomes clear: the difference is almost gone. Those who were isolated think about life more carefully and more openly than those who remained free. So who is mad here?