POPLAR FLUFF: Ivan Vyrypaev and Tatyana Lazareva

“Poplar Fluff”: a staged reading with elements of stand-up comedy Ivan Vyrypaev and Tatyana Lazareva present a moving story about Jewish emigration of the 1990s. What do we take with us when we leave our country? Suitcasessure. But also intonations, habits, a way of life, and secrets of the past that are in no hurry to leave us. “Poplar Fluff” is a staged reading with elements of stand-up, performed by Tatyana Lazareva and Ivan Vyrypaev. The artists will read excerpts from Roman Darev’s book of the same name about Jewish emigration to the United States in the 1990s. It is a touching and tragicomic story about people who went far away but, in a sense, stayed where they were. About relocation that does not always mean change. About memory, guilt, loveand how difficult it is to change not an address, but oneself. You can expect not only a reading, but also an open conversation about a shared past, a frightening present, a slipping sense of identity, and hope for forgiveness. It will be both funny and sad, with a light touch of nostalgia. About the artists Ivan Vyrypaev is a playwright, director, and actor. One of the most significant contemporary authors in Russian-language theatre, winner of numerous theatre awards. His plays are staged all over the world. Tatyana Lazareva is an actress, TV host, and comedian. She is well known for the shows O.S.P. Studio, Good Jokes, as well as for numerous television and film projects. Roman Darev is the author of “Poplar Fluff”, a writer.