Yuri Rumyantsev

Satirical, shocking and radically stripped back, Measure for Measure from Britain’s Cheek by Jowl and Moscow’s Pushkin Theatre is a gripping, compelling production of one of Shakespeare’s most controversial plays. Indulgent Duke Vincentio leaves Vienna in the hands of his puritanical deputy Angelo, to secretly observe the virtues and vices of his unruly state. When the saintly Isabella pleads with Angelo to release her brother Claudio, sentenced to death for fornication, he agrees on one condition: that Isabella sacrifice her virginity to him.

Based on A.P. Chekhov's story.

The court undeservedly passes a harsh sentence on a young worker Volodya Kharlamov. His girlfriend Valya, whom Volodya once saved from hooligans, and the people's assessor Mitrokhin actively insist on a review of the case. In the end, they are joined by others who knew Kharlamov well, but who were significantly hindered by simple human qualities - fear, selfishness and indifference.

Retired General Pelevin has nothing left but a small piece of ancestral land, granted to his forefathers by the royal family long ago. But now even this last possession is under threat — targeted for the construction of an ultra-modern shopping center. Mafia networks, in collusion with a corrupt local prefect, trick the general into going on an overseas tourist trip, and in his absence, they move a city landfill onto his property.

The protagonist spent a significant part of his life burdened by painful memories of his grandfather, who died during Stalin's repressions. And now the time has come when he could avenge his grandfather. This is one storyline, presented in the form of a flashback. The second unfolds in our time, which the author also sees as nothing good.