The performance is based on the book “Russian Villages in the Stories of their Inhabitants” edited by L. L. Kasatkin. Therefore, what we can expect from “Babushki” is a mosaic of stories told by the residents of the 20th century Siberian villages, filled with folk traditions, rituals and songs. Although the world that emerges from the performance is very distant, almost exotic in comparison to the reality of today’s metropolises, it is very interesting and seems familiar in our hearts. In the performance we look at life and the way it goes by from the perspective of the Babushkas, the women who can appreciate the value of life, knowing how quickly it passes. However, their roles are played by young actresses, graduates of the Kydryshov’s workshops. This combination makes it possible to show on stage the process of transforming and merging, like in a closed circle, the characters of women and babushkas. In the creation process the theatre used audio and video materials collected by the employees of the V.V. Vinogradov Russian Language Institute and fragments of “Asistolia”, a novel by Oleg Pavlov.

Praktika Theatre’s seat is on the Tverskaya Street in Moscow, close to Teatr.doc and two artistic clubs, B-2 and Club on Brestskaya, popular in the artistic circles. The street is then a small Moscow off-Broadway. The theatre was opened on October 7, 2005. The celebrations lasted for 24 hours and presented fragments of performances and small forms. The goal of the theatre is to speak about problems that are upto- date and relevant using contemporary language and new stylistics. It focuses mostly on the young generation of artists, supporting young, talented playwrights and directors.