Certificate of Life: A Poignant Story of Life After Catastrophe

CERTIFICATE OF LIFE

A filmed version of Mikhail Bychkov’s production, followed by a meeting with Vera Babicheva, the actress who plays the lead role.

The play by playwright Ron Elisha begins in the mid-1990s and spans almost ten years. Klara Reich lost her loved ones in a concentration camp and is now forced to prove every year that she is still alive: she must present a “certificate of life” at the German consulate in order to receive a modest pension. Each time, Klara and her adult, unsettled daughter Hilda meet Erika, a consular employee. Klara’s anger and sarcasm clash with the official’s coldness. Each woman has her own drama. Klara has chosen the role of the eternal victim; Hilda is torn between love for her mother and the desire to live her own life; and Erika is trying to unravel a family secret connected to the echoes of the Holocaust.

Yet the production is full of humor and irony, because they are essential to coping with pain. You will see virtuoso acting in a production by renowned director Mikhail Bychkov, whose productions once enjoyed consistent success in Latvia. The cast features three outstanding actresses: Vera Babicheva, Evgenia Simonova, and Zoya Kaidanovskaya.

After the screening, Vera Babicheva will meet with the audience to discuss the play, talk about how the production was created, and answer questions. An “inside perspective” on the challenging genre of tragicomedy.

Translation and adaptation of the play by Olga Varshaver.

Duration: 2 hours, no intermission.

The event will be held in Russian.