Moscow’s avant-garde Gogol Centre will stream its performances online

Forget the ‘go hard or go home’ motto. Now that home is the new normal, art galleries, cinemas, and theatres across the globe are switching to virtual entertainment alternatives — and Moscow’s avant-garde Gogol Center is naturally jumping on the bandwagon.

Founded in 2012 by the well-known Russian filmmaker and theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov, Gogol Centre has earned itself a well-deserved name in the Russian arts scene for its experimental programme, featuring interactive plays, concerts and performances.

Over the past days, theatres across the globe have had to draw their curtains due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and Gogol Centre is no exception. But Serebrennikov — who spent nearly 20 months under house arrest for accusations of fraud that he denies — has recently announced the launch of the ‘Gogol-Online’ project, a virtual programme of archival plays, interviews with actors, concerts, foreign productions and live home performances.

Their first online performance will be a screening of ‘Our Alla’, a staged concert where actors sing the songs of the iconic Soviet Russian singer Alla Pugacheva, adapting them to contemporary contexts.

The concert will take place on Wednesday 25 March, and it will be streamed on their website and social media platforms. Tune in at 5pm UTC, and get ready to shake off the quarantine blues to the beat of 70s Russian pop.