A Unique Anti-war Play Will Be Staged In London
- 21.09.2026, 14:14
Belarusians might find this production interesting.
On September 27, a unique anti-war performance titled “Nathan” will take place in London: Actor and musician Anatoly Bely and Mikhail Borzykin will perform in a phantasmagorical production based on the novel by Artur Solomonov, according to Charter97.org.
A truly unique performance will be staged at London’s The Tabernacle theater. There will be two performers on stage—actor Anatoly Bely and rock musician Mikhail Borzykin—and the combination of acting, text reading, and music will give rise to what could be called a “phantasmagorical performance.”
This is not a play, nor is it a reading: Anatoly Bely will play several roles, drawing on a text that is “just as absurd and grotesque as our lives today.” And the songs by Mikhail Borzykin, frontman of the legendary band “Televizor,” will serve not only as accompaniment to the action and plot, but also as a statement in their own right.
A novel about the adventures of Nathan and a talking raccoon was being prepared for publication in Moscow and was scheduled to be released in March 2022. But that didn’t happen: it was no longer possible to publish a novel written in anticipation of a great war—a novel in which Nathan and his friend, the raccoon Tugrik, seize power, establish a new order, and stir up unrest; declare wars and make peace; and become, by turns, pacifists, militarists, fascists, and liberals—in short, they experience every political and social temptation.
And when the retreating Russian troops took a raccoon from the Kherson Zoo with them and the animal became a news sensation, gained a personality, a voice, and then even started running its own Telegram channel, it became absolutely clear that in today’s Russia, *Nathan* could never be published.
As a result, the novel was published in Austria by the publishing house “Danzig & Unfried.”
Here are some reviews from the first readers:
“For the past few years, I’ve been unable to shake the thought: how do I write about the present day? Allegories and parables feel like a thing of the past, and I don’t want to slip into journalism. But this is exactly how one should write!”
(Andrey Makarevich)
“Tragifarce—such a complex genre, my favorite genre—and through it, Arthur brilliantly portrays the present day. The novel is valuable for its relevance and will remain a reflection of the era.”
(Alexander Filippenko)
Actor Anatoly Bely on the performance “Nathan”: “It’s very important to me that audiences who come to see our production of ‘Nathan’ will laugh. And today, that’s a very important form of therapy. After all, the best thing we can do right now is to laugh at evil. That’s exactly what we’re laughing at.”
Performance start time: September 27, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
Address: The Tabernacle,
35 Powis Square, London, W11 2AY
“Natan” runs for 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Before the performance, you’ll be able to purchase books by Artur Solomonov, published in Austria and Israel.
After the event, Anatoly Bely, Mikhail Borzykin, and Artur Solomonov will answer your questions.
The performance is in Russian.
You can buy tickets here.