"Illusions" at the Baryshnikov Arts Center

BAC presents the U.S. Premiere of a new production of Illusions by Russia’s foremost contemporary playwright, Ivan Viripaev.

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Through intertwining stories of two married couples looking back on their lives, Illusions playfully unravels paradoxes of passion and death, loyalty and betrayal, truth and fiction, hope and despair, in a darkly comedic exploration of true love.

The play's translator and director, U.S.-born Cazimir Liske, is a graduate of Moscow Art Theatre School, and has been based in Moscow for the past decade. Last year, Mr. Liske received a residency at BAC to develop a new staging of "Illusions" with a team of local actors and designers. (Mr. Liske performed in the original Russian production in 2011, as well as the 2012 U.K. tour of his English language translation, an Actors Touring Company production.) The presentation at BAC will be his American directorial debut. 

Artist Bio - Ivan Viripaev

Russia’s foremost contemporary playwright and screenwriter, Ivan Viripaev, is a graduate of the Irkutsk Drama School and Moscow Drama School. He founded the theater group Play Space, and is artistic director of the Praktika Theater in Moscow. Viripaev’s acclaimed theater works include Illusions (2011), July (2006), Genesis No 2 (2004), and Oxygen (2003). He has written and directed films including Delhi Dance (2012), Oxygen (2009), and Euphoria (2006). Among his many accolades are the prestigious Golden Mask Award, the International New Drama Festival Award, and awards at the Venice, Warsaw, and Sochi film festivals.

Artist Bio - Cazimir Liske

American actor in Moscow admires Russia's intellectual side

Born in Denver, Colorado, theater artist Cazimir Liske is a graduate of Dartmouth College and trained at the Moscow Art Theatre School. His Moscow stage credits include Illusions (Praktika), Lafkadio (Meyerhold Center), and Woe from Wit and West Side Story (Moscow Art Theatre). In the UK, credits include the Actors Touring Company’s production of Sarah Kane’s Crave and Liske’s English language translation of Ivan Viripaev’s Illusions, directed by Ramin Gray. Other collaborations with Viripaev include Delhi Dance, Sugar, and Grace and Grit. Liske is a faculty member of the Moscow Art Theatre School.

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