Dragons, bears, mermaids, fox spiders, migrant rats: these are the creepy inhabitants of Chto Delat?’s Russian Woods. In their fable-like theatre piece that involves a choir, a group of dancers, a film screen and, last but not least, an audience Chto Delat? deconstruct not only contemporary Russian (class) society but also the very medium of theatre itself. Two cameras document the unfolding performance, one from the front view, the other from behind the stage. Tensions between the dancers, the choir, and the actual script eventually lead to the abrupt end of the play, leaving the theatre audience as well as us, the film viewers, wondering whether we are the play’s observers or indeed its subjects. This ‘Lernfilm’ is as opaque as a dense forest, whose furry characters have been inspired by the protest waves in Russia between December 2011 and March 2012.

The film screening will be followed by a talk with Dmitry Vilensky, member of Chto Delat? (in German).