Soviet nonconformist art was emerged in the 1950s when artists dared to transcend the official canon of Socialist realism which prescribed rigid themes, genres, and design. The reds and yellows of Soviet propaganda art was dominated by officially approved slogans and images of Marx and Marxists. The canon ideal results in a yellow profile of Vladimir Lenin atop red background, with yellow letters shouting, “Long Live the Proletarian Revolution!” However, that same background together with a yellow profile of a cute girl and the mundane phrase “Sashok! Would You Like Some Tea?” subverted the canon by revealing the humanity behind the red-and-yellow guise of politics and ideology.
Alexander Kosolapov “Sashok! Would You Like Some Tea?,” 1975. Painted wood, tape, burlap, and nails on panel. 50 x 107 x 4 cm. Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University. Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union. 1999.0723. Photographed by Jack Abrahams.
The art of the Socialist realism was devoid of color. It painted life in black and white, neatly polarized: good and evil, truth and lies, heroes and villains, past and future. Aleksandr Volodin’s play “Five Evenings” (1958) recognizes and reveals the many colors behind this black and white picture of the world. Its opening, even before characters appear on the stage, says: “Winter, it snows heavily in the evenings.” That is, black nights and white snow. “It touches heart provoking memories of school breaks, romantic dates in entryways, past winters….” This monochrome perspective is instead colored with memories and emotions—nostalgia, happiness, and love.
Eduard Tolokonnikov. Photographed and copyright by Alexandra Vaynshtein.
Eduard Tolokonnikov, director of the recent New York off-off Broadway production of the “Five Evenings” starts the show literally following the playwright across a dark stage through white confetti snowflakes. At first, the characters comply with their world (though more white and less black), like chess figures on delineated space of the board.
Ilyin (Roman Freud) is the first to cross the borders and challenge the black and white paradigm. In the opening scene, Ilyin leaves Zoya (Inna Yesilevskaya and Yelena Shmulenson) and takes on new complexity. He now defies simplicity as any living person, whom we do not yet know, nor understand.
Left to right: Ilyin (Roman Freud) and Tamara (Snezhana Chernova). Photographed and copyright by Alexandra Vaynshtein.
Ilyin not only crosses the border himself, but he also opens it for others. During his first visit to Tamara (Snezhana Chernova and Lana Shypitsyna), using the elements of set design (by Jenya Shekhter) he turns the apartment door, a tool of division, into the unifying object of the table, bringing people together. At this table, the black and white issues, conflicts, and fights eventually yield to harmony. This allows a new love between Katya (Ekaterina Cherepanova) and Slava (Aleksei Furmanov) to grow. Also there, the old love of Tamara and Ilyin returns. “Tell me, Sashok. I will understand,” Tamara promises to Ilyin at the table.
Left to right: Katya (Ekaterina Cherepanova) and Slava (Aleksei Furmanov). Photographed and copyright by Alexandra Vaynshtein.
The monochrome world is comfortably simple, rational, and too attractive to let it go. Bringing color to the world is difficult; it requires hearing and seeing others. Moreover, you must open yourself and become vulnerable. Some characters manage to open in silence, just by being around at the right, or wrong, moment, such as Ilyin’s friend Timofeev (Dima Koan) who sits at that table without speaking, while emphatically supporting his friend.
Left to right: Timofeev (Dima Koan) and Zoya (Inna Yesilevskaya). Photographed and copyright by Alexandra Vaynshtein.
The black and white world is one of confrontation and simplicity. This is what makes it durable. While harmonious, complex world is, by nature, fragile. “Oh, if only there were no war,” says Tamara in the play’s finale. Today, when the war rages on for already three years, people come to see the “Five Evenings” looking for hope, for a new world of colors.
The “Five Evenings” premiered on March 20, 2025, at the Chain Theatre in New York and played daily to a full house until March 30, 2025. The show will have a second run from May 28-June 15, 2025, at the West End Theatre.
This post was written by the author in their personal capacity.The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of The Theatre Times, their staff or collaborators.
This post was written by Vassili Schedrin.
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.
