Tour Dates
State vs. Natasha Banina International Virtual Tour Dates:
Upcoming Shows
Check back for more dates coming soon!
Past Shows
Gesher Theater and Cherry Orchard Festival Present:
December 3, 2020 at 1:30PM EDT – Russian
December 4, 2020 at 12:00PM EDT – Russian
December 6, 2020 at 1:00pm EDT – English
Voila!Festival and Cherry Orchard Festival Present:
November 12, 2020 at 2:30PM EDT – English
November 13, 2020 at 2:30PM EDT – English
November 15, 2020 at 12:00pm EDT – Russian
ShowOne Productions and Cherry Orchard Festival Present:
October 29, 2020 at 8:00PM EDT – English
November 29, 2020 at 8:00PM EDT – Russian with English subtitles
the Wilma Theater and Cherry Orchard Festival Present:
October 22, 2020 at 8:00PM EDT – English
Baryshnikov Arts Center and Cherry Orchard Festival Present:
October 12, 2020 at 8:00PM EDT – English
October 14, 2020 at 8:00PM EDT – English
Special Event for Students & Educators
September 20, 2020 at 8:00PM EDT – English
Must register with school-affiliated (.edu) email address
Shakespeare & Co. and Cherry Orchard Festival Present:
August 26, 2020 at 8:15PM EDT – English
ArtsEmerson and Cherry Orchard Festival Present:
August 20, 2020 at 8:00 EDT – Russian (with English Subtitles)
August 23, 2020 at 8:00 EDT – English
More Dates Coming Soon!
Launch & About
AN ONLINE INTERACTIVE LIVE PERFORMANCE
State vs. Natasha Banina
“A CAPTIVATING THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE!”
Produced by Igor Golyak & Sara Stackhouse
WARNING! THIS IS A LIVE INTERACTIVE ART EXPERIENCE
She makes her case; the audience decides her fate. This is State vs. Natasha Banina.
Performed live by Darya Denisova (2020 Elliot Norton Award-winner for Outstanding Actress), State vs. Natasha Banina unfolds as a Russian teenager tells the story of her life in a small-town orphanage, and how her desire to be free led to a crime of passion. From the inside of a “Zoom court room,” she makes unique appeals to the audience/jury, letting them into her world where she dreams of love, family, and her future. Is Natasha guilty of manslaughter? You, the audience, will decide.
Based on Natasha’s Dream by the Russian playwright Yaroslava Pulinovich, this New York Times Critic’s Pick is a brilliant example of how live theatre can break boundaries and shock viewers even when experienced at home on a laptop.
Gallery
Artistic Team
Meet our Artistic Team!
- Based on Natasha’s Dream by Yaroslava Pulinovich
- Performer: Darya Denisova
- Translator: John Freedman
- Director and Video Design: Igor Golyak
- Production Associate: Marianna Golyak
- Animator: Anton Iakhontov
- Music Composor: Vadim Khrapatchev
- Produced by Igor Golyak & Sara Stackhouse
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Darya Denisova (Natasha Banina) received the 2020 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Actress for Arlekin’s The Stone. She has performed as the lead actress in various Arlekin Players’ productions, including “Memorial Prayer” in 2014, “Natasha’s Dream” in 2015, “Tales of the Last Wednesday” in 2016, “Dead Man’s Diary” in 2017, “МЫ-US” in 2018, “The Stone” in 2019 and “The Seagull” in 2019. She has also traveled to several international theatre festivals to perform with Arlekin Players Theatre, including the United SOLO festival, off Broadway, New York; SOLO Festival in Moscow, Russia; HighFest theatre festival, Yerevan, Armenia with her award-winning solo performance “Natasha’s Dream.” Darya has been recognized by Boston critics and leading reviewers for her roles at Arlekin Players. She studied acting at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts in Moscow, graduating in 2016. After she received her degree, she moved back to Boston to continue performing in Boston with Arlekin Players Theatre, which she joined in 2013. She has taught documentary theatre at the Startalk School at Harvard University and the Stanislavsky method at the Igor Golyak acting studio.
Igor Golyak (Director, Artistic Director) received the 2020 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director for Arlekin’s The Stone and was also nominated in the same year for his direction of Arlekin’s The Seagull. He is an Associate Professor at the Boston Conservatory, and has spent over a decade teaching the art of theatre. He is the founder of the Igor Golyak Acting Studio and Artistic Director of Arlekin Players Theatre which has won numerous awards in the United States and internationally and most recently an Elliot Norton award for his production of Dead Man’s Diary at Arts Emerson. Arlekin Players Theatre is a multicultural, multi-national collaborative that is growing year to year in the number of audience members, company actors, and volunteers. His theatre has been invited to perform on famous stages and at world-renowned festivals all over the world, including Moscow Art Theatre, and festivals in Yerevan, Armenia, New York City, Chicago, Lviv, Ukraine, Monaco, and many others.
Educators
WORKSHOP & PERFORMANCE OFFERINGS
“I’ve watched dozens of livestreamed presentations during the pandemic lockdown, from dance, theater, and music to literature, art, and political discussions. But the future of online productions might be best represented so far by Arlekin Players Theatre’s “State vs. Natasha Banina…”
This Week in New York
Conceived and developed during the time of the COVID pandemic, Arlekin Players’ “State vs Natasha Banina” has captured the imaginations of audiences, theater artists and critics around the world. Devised in a living room in a 4×6 space, Arlekin’s Artistic Director cooked up an innovative use of technologies and applied it to an artistic piece, performed by Eliot Norton Award Winner Darya Denisova, that defies genre and works at the cutting edge of theater.
WORKSHOP & PERFORMANCE OFFERINGS
For higher education, high schools, and theater programs
Live Virtual Performance “State vs Natasha Banina”
WARNING! THIS IS A LIVE INTERACTIVE ART EXPERIMENT.
In telling the story of Natasha Banina, performed live by Darya Denisova (2020 Elliot Norton Award-winner for Outstanding Actress by the Boston Critics Association), Denisova will interact with the audience as the jurors who decide her fate. In State vs Natasha Banina (based on Natasha’s Dream by Yaroslava Pulinovich), a girl tells the story of her life in a small-town orphanage, and her desire to be free; break out of her world. From the inside of a “ZOOM” court room, she will make twists and turns through her unique appeal to audiences as the jurors, letting them into her world where she dreams about love, family, acceptance, adjusting and her future. Ultimately the two worlds collide and you get to decide her fate.
A CAPTIVATING THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE!
the New York Times Critics’ Pick
Virtual Talk Back with actress Darya Denisova and director Igor Golyak
Customized and moderated for your students or audience (included with performance).
Directing & Producing in the Cloud Workshop
- Required Preparation: See “The State vs. Natasha Banina” (September 20th)
- Recommended Preparation: The Seagull by Anton Chekhov
We are in an unprecedented chapter of human distancing and isolation. As theater makers, how do we move forward? In this 2 hour session, designed by Igor Golyak, Arlekin Artistic Director and the innovator behind “The State vs. Natasha Banina”, and Boston University directing MFA student Blair Cadden, Arlekin will share and discuss video examples based on Natasha (a 1-woman play) and Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull.. The group will discuss and explore how to choose resonant material and how to choose and modify the right technologies to create meaningful live art experiences. Arlekin will also share some basic Virtual Theater technology solutions for artists and classrooms.
Customized Interdisciplinary Panels & Discussions
Arlekin Players can work with your theater department, or with your theater department in collaboration with other disciplines, programs and departments (such as literature, social studies, social justice, law, media arts) to customize a panel, discussion, or interactive class to explore themes and ideas related to “Natasha” that are germane to your students.
Possible topics/intersections:
- Guilty of Innocent: Imperfect Justice & How Systems Affect Young People
- An Examination of Justice in Literature: No Exit, Stranger, Crime and Punishment, The Plague
- International Justice: Politics and justice systems in Russia and the US
- Immigrant Voices & Stories Surveillance and Media
- Other Topics to be co-designed
PRICING FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
- Performance & Talk Back $1800 Performance
- Talk Back & Workshop $2200 Performance
- Talk Back, Workshop & Customized Panel/Discussion $2500
Information & Scheduling | saraestackhouse@gmail.com
Critics' Reviews
“…A captivating theatrical experience! – Maya Phillips
See the full review at The New York Times
Review: A Bracing Trial by Zoom in ‘State vs. Natasha Banina’
Anchored by a charismatically off-kilter performance, this one-woman show asks viewers to judge a young Russian accused of a crime of passion.
Continue Reading Review: A Bracing Trial by Zoom in ‘State vs. Natasha Banina’
State vs. Natasha – NewYorkTheatreCritic.com
Below are some of our favorite excerpts from Steve Capra’s review of State vs. Natasha Banina. We thank them for their review, and we have provided a link below to read it in full. […] “Indeed, Darya Denisova’s bravura performance needs no ornamentation. It’s splendid, mesmerizing acting. So layered is this performance that we see…
Continue Reading State vs. Natasha – NewYorkTheatreCritic.com
State vs. Natasha – Theatre Talk Boston
Below are some of our favorite excerpts from Theatre Talk Boston’s review of State vs. Natasha Banina. We thank them for their review, and we have provided a link below to read it in full. ” […] As Natasha’s story came closer to its end, I became aware that I would have to make a…
State vs. Natasha – the ARTery
Rather than excerpting the review on WBUR’s the ARTery with Cristela Guerra, about State vs. Natasha Banina’s success, we have linked the full version here for you to listen to. We appreciate their review, and suggest you read/hear more from them here.
State vs Natasha – New York Times (Critic’s Pick)
Below are excerpts from the New York Time’s Critic’s Pick review, praising State vs. Natasha Banina. We thank them for their review, and we have attached its full article link below. “The Boston-based Arlekin Players Theater’s digital production of “State vs. Natasha Banina” reimagines the utility of the medium beyond everyday office meetings and virtual…
Continue Reading State vs Natasha – New York Times (Critic’s Pick)
State vs. Natasha – Boston Public Radio + Open Studio
Rather than excerpting the interview on Boston Public Radio with Jared Bowen, about State vs. Natasha Banina’s success, we have linked the full version here for you to listen to. We appreciate their review, and suggest you read/hear more from them here.
Continue Reading State vs. Natasha – Boston Public Radio + Open Studio
State vs. Natasha – City Pleasures
Below are some of our favorite excerpts from the City Pleasure’s review of State vs. Natasha Banina. We thank them for their review, and we have provided a link below to read it in full. To add suspense to the drama, the audience has no idea what crime Natasha’s accused of until the very end. …
State vs. Natasha – Broadway World
Below are some of our favorite excerpts from Broadway World’s review of State vs. Natasha Banina. We thank them for their review, and we have provided a link below to read it in full. “However, in the end, the most compelling part of Denisova’s performance is her closing plea to the jury just before we…
State vs. Natasha – The Daily Californian
Below are some of our favorite excerpts from the Daily Californian’s review of State vs. Natasha Banina. We thank them for their review, and we have provided a link below to read it in full. “The verdict of Natasha’s case is not the first time that the production asks its audience to participate in a…
State vs. Natasha – Theater Pizzazz
Below are some of our favorite excerpts from the Theater Pizzazz’s review of State vs. Natasha Banina. We thank them for their review, and we have provided a link below to read it in full. “Arlekin Players Theatre has tested the bounds of Zoom, instinctively, pulling out their subtle and intricate background design to make…
State vs. Natasha – the Boston Globe
Below are some of our favorite excerpts from the Boston Globe’s review of State vs. Natasha Banina. We thank them for their review, and we have provided a link below to read it in full. […] “There’s an awful lot happening within that enclosed space in “State vs. Natasha Banina,” a marriage of theater and…
State vs. Natasha – New York Times
Below are some excerpts from an article from the New York Times lauding our performance of State vs. Natasha Banina. We thank them for their reviews, and have linked the full article below. “PHILLIPS Both “Mad Forest” and “State vs. Natasha Banina” demonstrated how plays that explore broken institutions, social unrest and isolation may be…