RAS(PUTIN): THE HIGHLY IMPROBABLE AKA FICTIONAL STORY OF PUTIN’S RISE TO POWER Announced for New York Theatre Festival

Teatro LATEA will present the world premiere of RAS(PUTIN): THE HIGHLY IMPROBABLE AKA FICTIONAL STORY OF PUTIN’S RISE TO POWER this January as part of the New York Theatre Festival. Written and directed by Arielle Zaytsev, the production will blend satire, historical fantasy, and theatrical provocation in its first public staging. The piece will join the festival’s lineup of new works exploring contemporary themes through experimental forms.

The play offers a darkly comedic reimagining of Russian history by imagining a scenario in which Rasputin survives and enters a surreal, queer relationship with a young Vladimir Putin. Incorporating mysticism, camp, and a speculative narrative, the production examines ideas of power, identity, and desire. Zaytsev, the daughter of Eastern European immigrants and the child of a Ukrainian father, developed the work in response to current events and said, “This piece is my way of reclaiming the narrative and resisting authoritarian erasure, imagining Putin in the way he’d most hate to be perceived: vulnerable, human, and queer.”

The production will premiere at Teatro LATEA, located at 107 Suffolk Street on the Lower East Side. Performances will take place during the New York Theatre Festival’s winter programming.

Ticketing