Behind Closed Curtains

Anton Chekhov’s short stories, with their piercing exploration of human frailty and societal constraints, form the backbone of “Behind Closed Curtains” (2025), a performance that interweaves five tales into a cohesive critique of power, illusion, and disillusionment. By adapting “The Chorus Girl”, “An Upheaval”, “A Tragic Actor”, “The Jeune Premier”, and “Volodya Returns”, the production excavates Chekhov’s timeless themes—class exploitation, climate change, the performative nature of identity, and the clash between youthful idealism and societal rigidity—while framing them within intimate, claustrophobic spaces that mirror modern struggles.