dad, bye

alexander kudryashov is a director, artist, and composer who has worked in moscow and other russian cities. after the war in ukraine began, he focused on anti-war projects and left russia in september 2022.

vasily sharapov is a street artist, scriptwriter, and the chief dramaturg of alexander kudryashov's theatre company. he views institutional theater in russia as weak, dishonest, and complicit in the face of war, and he develops alternative projects in response.

"before the war, kudryashov created a monologue about his father who had fought in chechnya. in it, he explored his encounter with the terrible in his close relative, the impact of this terrible on him, and the possibility - or impossibility - of abandoning his father. criticism: anatoly alexandrovich's biography is nothing like the heroic story of the defender of the fatherland we know about from russian propaganda. we don't know what kudryashov sr. believed in and fought for, or what was behind his choice, other than a desire to emulate his friends, similarly contracted soldiers - his son deliberately keeps silent about all of this.

— anton khitrov in a review for meduza