The Waiter and the Slut

RETURNING for an ENCORE RUN in DECEMBER, 2019

The Russian Arts Theater & Studio presents an elegant and subtle parable of the life in exile based on Ivan Bunin’s and Nina Berbersova’s stories; at Pushkin Hall from December 18 – 28, 2019

Theater poster for Bunin/Berberova: In Paris / The Waiter and the Slut / Image courtesy of The Russian Arts Theater & Studio

This summer, The Russian Arts Theater and Studio presents two gripping love stories by Russian émigré writers: Nobel Prize winner Ivan Bunin and the provocative Nina Berberova.

Driven to exile following the revolution, former Russian aristocrats now find themselves isolated as new immigrants in Paris. Their new lives are spent battling sickness, searching for affordable apartments and waiting in pawn shops. Ivan Bunin’s In Paris tells the brief and bittersweet story about the encounter of an ex-general of the old imperial army and Olga Alexandrovna, a young woman now working as a waitress in a Russian restaurant. Upon a chance meeting, they momentarily find a sense of home in each other’s arms. In Nina Berberova’s raw and searing The Waiter And The Slut, Tania, the daughter of a St. Petersburg big-shot, now finds herself in Paris, where her husband dies in a mental hospital and she is reduced to surviving on meals paid for by male admirers. As she ages, her admirers grow more grotesque, and she soon finds herself trapped in a devastating affair with a waiter—a man she soon grows to hate.

Directed by Aleksey Burago, the company’s artistic director, with the set design by Natalia Danilova, the production skillfully incorporates Edith Piaf’s songs and vintage film rolls and photographs of Paris in the 1930s to set the mood for a seemingly simple yet deeply disturbing tales. The choice of contrasting colors for the stage decor, airy and light for In Paris and gloomy and dark for The Waiter and the Slut, accentuates the pain and desperation. The nuanced read of Berberova’s prose by the director leaves aside the extreme misery of the characters’ situation which could make an opening for another play. Genuine acting by the cast of Roman Freud, Luisa Menzen, Tom Schubert, and Di Zhu keeps the spectators on edge and delivers a terrific theater night for every theater and literature lover!

Directed by Aleksey Burago

Based on the short stories of Ivan Bunin and Nina Berberova; performed in English

Adapted by Fred Pezzulli

Set Design by Natalia Danilova

Featuring: Roman Freud, Luisa Menzen, Tom Schubert & Di Zhu

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