The first performance of theatre series Trilogie de la guerre (The War Trilogy) created by Elina Kulikova and dima efremov.

With the first chapter of the Trilogy Elina Kulikova and dima efremov present a concert-manifesto on the issue of the Russian imperialistic complex that made possible to happen the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Elina is a theater director, who was working with feminist and queer dramaturgy before the start of war and then left the county after experiencing a political prosecution by Russian propaganda in March 2022. dima is a multidisciplinary artist and activist, who’s major work today is to help political prisoners and victims of Putin's regime. During the show artists are performing Russian classical romances, which can be considered as one of the major symbols of the country’s culture. At the same time they are telling about the systematic violence that this culture is based on and that has appeared in their life since childhood but today became visible to the whole world.

Elina Kulikova and Dima Efremov present the second part of the trilogy dedicated to the war in Ukraine. In the first part, Champ Brûlé, they explored the theme of the imperialist complex and Russian classical music, addressing systemic political violence through their personal stories.

The second part, Un Endroit Perdu, is dedicated to the nature of memory and catastrophe. The artists raise the central question of war time: what drives a person to commit war crimes and to kill? Through poetry, auto-fiction, and documentary writing, Elina, alone on stage, recreates Russian folk songs. The folk lament (an ancient singing tradition once performed by mourners in Russia) is one of the most transgressive types of musical performance in the traditional culture. Historically, it accompanies the tragic moments in a woman's life.

Through her body, Elina traverses centuries of Russian history to get closer to answering the question: how has the unimaginable violence perpetuated by her country today become possible?

“It’s a performance in which I speak to death for the first time in my life (but who do we speak to every day if not to her?). Descriptions of war crimes, folk laments, Latin American novels, and ruins are just a part of this universe. If the first part of our theatrical trilogy addressed the reasons why the war in Ukraine started, this piece explores the reasons why it has lasted for nearly 1,000 days. From patriarchal Russian classical music, we move on to something even more brutal: folklore. In this text, I do not appropriate the narrative of the victim; instead, I give a voice to the killer, to those responsible for this war and others, who impose them. Responsible, like me,” - Elina Kulikova.

Une Nuit Blanche as all the appearances of a concert: the audience gathers around a DJ set, the music is loud, and the beat drives the space. In reality, it is the third act of a manifesto-trilogy of resistance against the actions of the Russian state. In a context of severe repression, Russian protests against the war are almost inaudible in Europe. This “theatrical party” becomes an eruption of resistance—and of the joy that accompanies it.

The story is once again told in the first person, this time from the perspective of activist and artist Dima Efremov. Queer and originally from a small, homophobic Russian village, Dima first trained in music and composition. When the war in Ukraine began, he turned his attention to international law and human rights advocacy. He went on to found his own organization, which has already helped free 400 political prisoners.

Dima developed a system that undermines Russia’s totalitarian military apparatus from within: he assists detainees already under house arrest and fitted with electronic ankle bracelets in evading FSB surveillance and escaping prison.

Drawing on Dima Efremov’s story as well as on the history of partisan struggles around the world, the two artists evoke both the horrors of repression and the small victories that save human lives on a daily basis. Music, laughter, and dance become paradoxical yet powerful tools for conveying the vital importance of resistance in all its forms.