A great homage to Chinese photographer Ren Hang by the Russian theatre and film director.

Kirill SEREBRENNIKOV, who became known around the world when suggestions of fraud involving a state subsidy to his theatre led to him being placed under house arrest in 2017. However, even despite that, the Russiandramatist has never stopped presenting his works on stage and screen, with a new film titled “The Summer” becoming a hot topic at the Cannes International Film Festival in France in 2018, just a year after his detention.
Meanwhile, SEREBRENNIKOV had long been interested in the late Chinese photographer and poet REN Hang, whose life inspired him to create “OUTSIDE” for the theatre. REN’s works included aesthetic and poetic nude photos, even though such explicitly sexual subjects are a powerful taboo in China. Tragically, however, he hanged himself at the age of 29.
In “OUTSIDE,” SEREBRENNIKOV imaginatively uses music and dance to express RENs sparkling words about topics such as love and death, sex and loneliness — but then ensures a message of protest against the authorities comes glinting through as well.
In witnessing this work, audiences will may well sense something very pure, naïve and absolutely beautiful that both artists’ spirits share.

A man is confined in an apartment room. Light from the window casts a shadow on the wall that gradually transforms into the shape of the Chinese photographer and poet Ren Hang, who hanged himself at the age of 29. The shadow asks the man to step out of the room, then amid flashing lights and images a dancer with an enormous bottom and elephant-like legs, an American photographer called Robert, and a character portraying Hang’s mother loudly denying her son’s death appear on stage. What was driving Hang — a man in emotional turmoil, caught between the authorities’ oppression and his love for his country and his family?

“The border Chinese photographer Ren Hang (1987–2017) aimed to cross.”
5 May 14:30~, 6 May 13:30~ at Shizuoka Arts Theatre

Direction, scenography, dramaturgy: Kirill SEREBRENNIKOV
Choreography: Ivan ESTEGNEEV and Evgeny KULAGIN
Music: Ilya DEMUTSKY
Costumes: Tatiana DOLMATOVSKAYA
Lights: Serguey KOUCHER
Stage direction: Anna SHALASHOVA

Cast: Odin LUND BIRON, Alexey BYCHKOV, YANG Ge, Gueorgui KOUDRENKO, Nikita KUKUSHKIN, Julia LOBODA, Daniil ORLOV, Andrey PETROUCHENKOV, Andrey POLIAKOV, Evgeny ROMANTSOV, Anastassia RADKOVA, Evgeny SANGADZHIEV, Igor SHAROïKO

Production: M.ART (Modern Artlife Foundation)
Co-production: Festival d’Avignon
With the support of Gogol Center

Subtitle translation: UEDA Yoko
Interpretation: IRIE Mariko
Production:KAJITANI Satoshi, KEIMI Aoi, KUGA Haruko

*Some scenes can offend the sensibility of the youngest. Not recommended for children under the age of 18.
*Due to the nature of its content, this performance includes an obligatory 15-minutes pre-show lecture. Admission is conditional on attending this lecture.