Gogol's story "The Portrait" in today's world does not sound like a romantic novel at all. Built on the Faustian motif of the sale of the soul, it contains an assumption that shifts what is happening from the everyday level into the zone of metaphysics. Gogol creates a world, where the embodiment of evil needs an artist in order to come true, to express itself, to affirm its existence. And, unable to withstand the temptation, the one who could serve the Beautiful begins to serve the devil. This is a terrible fairy tale, in tune with our days.

“When you meet a character in Gogol’s text, who, intoxicated by power and vindictive jealousy, “with the fury of a tiger, rushed, tore, split, cut into pieces, and trampled” everything vivid and talented that he could reach, you are amazed at the total, visionary relevance of this image”, says playwright Esther Bol. “Gogol’s puppets of the devil are destructive and deadly, but the harm they can cause is still commensurate with human capabilities. The devil's puppets today have ballistic missiles and a nuclear arsenal at their disposal...”

The myth about the artist, who could not withstand the temptation of the easy path, unfolds into an eschatological mystery, full of destructive temptations at the edge of the abyss.

Esther Bol (playwright) and Yuri Butusov (staging director)