War and Peace. Audio Play

Rimas Tuminas’s production was created for the 100th anniversary of the theatre. Since then, it has toured all across Russia, conquered international stages, and even stepped beyond the theatre itself—into cinemas.

Today, it is the most in-demand performance based on Leo Tolstoy’s novel. In the centenary year of Russian radio theatre, it can be not only watched, but also listened to: the recording was made directly onstage using ten microphones, creating a sense of presence and immersing you in a living, almost tangible atmosphere of the theatre.

Leo Tolstoy is one of the greatest writers in history, a master of realistic prose, whose influence is felt by many authors of the 20th century in Russia and beyond. His main epic is “War and Peace.” It is a story about friendship and love, where hopes are replaced by disappointments, courage by fear, and personal destinies unfold against the backdrop of the confrontation between Russia and France.

The novel reminds us of the fragility of beauty and the fleeting nature of human life, leaving a powerful and sometimes ambiguous aftertaste.

In the performance, families take center stage— the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys, the Kuragins, the Drubetskoys… A person and their loved ones in an era of historical turning points. An elegant, fragile, theatrical world is gradually swept up by the “comet of 1812,” overturning former notions and the familiar way of life.