Neva May 4, 2013

ArtsEmerson: The World on Stage presents Neva. In a politically charged, haunting meditation on theatre and the revolutionary impulse, Chilean writer-director Guillermo Calderón’s Neva tells the story of Anton Chekhov’s widow, the actress Olga Knipper, who arrives in a dimly lit rehearsal room in St. Petersburg in the winter of 1905. As Olga and two other actors await the rest of the cast, they huddle together, act out scenes from their lives and muse on their art form and love—while, unseen, striking workers are being gunned down in the streets by the Tsarist regime. This satirical yet intense performance savagely examines the relationship between theatre and historical context.

Official Website: http://artsemerson.org