On August 7 and 8, 2026, the world premiere of this work by Ivan Vyrypaev took place on the stage of the Ancient Epidaurus Theatre, which is more than 2,300 years old.

The performance was directed by the renowned European director Galin Stoev. The production was created by the Warsaw-based Teal House Foundation for Integral Development in collaboration with the Athens Epidaurus Festival.

The text of the play is already published in three language versions — Russian, English, and Greek — right here, on the website, in the "Plays" section.

I am glad to announce the launch of my two new educational programs: the practical online course "Writing a Play" and the offline intensive "Theater and Meaning" in Greece.

These courses are designed for writers, entrepreneurs, psychologists, and anyone wishing to master playwriting or discover theater as a practical tool for integral development—aligning physical, emotional, and spiritual levels.

"Writing a Play" Course (Online)
A practical 10-week program focusing on the craft of playwriting and plot structure. Under my mentorship, each participant will master the laws of text and write their own short play.
Starts on September 15, 2026.
Detailed syllabus and registration

"Theater and Meaning" Course (Greece, Thessaloniki — Chalkidiki)
An offline intensive combining theoretical knowledge with profound bodily and emotional experience. The curriculum includes attention practices, voice development, partner contact, and the study of myth.
Dates: October 1–7, 2026.
Detailed syllabus and registration

The last interview of a man who walked out of civilization at the peak of world fame — published without a single cut by the woman who recorded it. A love story without a single romantic scene.

Ivan Vyrypaev has completed a scholarly and artistic adaptation of Molière’s “Donjuan or a Party with a Hologram,” developed over two years in collaboration with a director, a Molière scholar, and other specialists.

On July 3, the Department of Theatre Studies of the University of the Peloponnese honored me with the titles of Doctor Honoris Causa and Honorary Professor.

Receiving this recognition in Nafplio, the very birthplace of world theatre, is a profound and deeply moving honor. During the ceremony, Professor Yannis Leontaris delivered an official address. Yet, in those moments, my thoughts turned to the fact that this recognition does not belong to me alone.

It belongs to everyone who creates our productions, and to every single audience member who opens their heart to art.

Today, theatre remains one of those rare, fragile spaces where we can still engage in honest dialogue, hear one another, and preserve our shared humanity.

My deepest thanks to the leadership of the University of the Peloponnese for this high trust.
And thank you to each of you for walking this path with me.

The new edition of the text was completed quite recently and differs significantly from the previous version. Now, a high-quality translation is finally available for international directors, producers, and readers. Welcome!

This play was written before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, so I had to make some significant revisions to the text. The performance script is now available once again.

Dear friends! Italian translations of my plays are now available on the website: Disquiet, UFO, Entertainment, Drunks, July, Oxygen, Line of the Sun, Illusions, and Dreamworks.
You can download them in the plays section.

Finally, I can share the script of Mahamaya Electronic Devices with the public. At the moment, four different productions have already been staged across Europe in various languages. Upcoming premieres are scheduled in Estonia and Lithuania.

Tomorrow, on February 22, a private screening of the play will take place in London in English.

I am uploading the text in both Russian and English, and translations into Ukrainian, Romanian, and Polish will be available very soon.

The premiere of my new play, The Cherry Man, took place on the historic stage of the National Theatre in Prague. I wasn’t able to attend the premiere myself, but judging by the rumors and reviews, the production is a great success!

For those who understand Czech and happen to be in Prague, I highly recommend checking it out. Here is the link to the theatre's official page: “Cherry Man”.

On June 7, 2023, the official opening of our Teal House Foundation for Integral Development will take place in Warsaw.
Our project will launch with the premiere of a performance based on my play Mahamaya Electronic Devices, which will be performed in two versions in a single evening: by Ukrainian actors in Ukrainian, and by Polish actors in Polish.

About the Integral Development Foundation "Teal House"

I have completed a new edition of the play DREAMWORKS. This play was written back in 2012; I wrote it in the Amazon rainforest of Peru.

Well, it contained a bit too much traditionalism. Today, that feels foolish and unhelpful to me. However, I believe the theme of the play and its humor remain highly relevant. That is why I created this new edition. The core meaning hasn't changed — it has expanded.

The new play by Ivan Vyrypaev, “The Only Tallest Trees on Earth,” has been published on the website.

The world premiere of the performance based on this text will take place in November 2022 in Warsaw.

The script is now available for reading and download in the “Plays” section.

Your theater is currently staging one, or in some cases several, of my plays. Under the contract concluded between us, you pay me author's royalties on a quarterly basis, which are percentages of ticket sales.

Since your theater is funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation or by the cultural department of your city — that is, by the state that is currently waging a criminal war against the Ukrainian people, killing citizens of that country, and destroying the infrastructure of its cities and villages — I have made a decision and want to inform you: all the money I receive from your theater will be transferred to funds aiding Ukraine. Needless to say (and I wish to emphasize this), this money will go exclusively toward peaceful causes, and under no circumstances toward military ones.

Our money will be used to provide assistance to Ukrainian refugees, children, and mothers — to everyone who is currently in need of this help. I am glad that in this way, funds from the cultural budget of the Russian Federation will be justly given to those who have suffered and continue to suffer from Russia's barbaric attack.

I will do my best to keep you thoroughly informed about the specific purposes for which the money we earned together has been sent.

The audience members who buy tickets to my plays must know: by purchasing a ticket to a performance based on my play, they are making their own humble contribution to helping the tragically affected Ukrainians and, at least to some small extent, compensating for the catastrophic damage that Russia is inflicting on Ukraine.

I am particularly pleased to announce my plan to the BDT, the Theatre of Nations, and the Moscow Art Theatre (MXAT) named after Chekhov, as the author's percentages from these theaters are significantly larger than those from all other theaters combined.

Thus, together with you, we are already beginning to do what I am absolutely certain the entire Russian people will do one day. This letter will be openly published in the media, on social networks, and on my website, so our joint action to help Ukrainians will be followed both in Russia and abroad.

Thank you for us being together.

Ivan Vyrypaev,
Playwright

Like most normal people, I feel deep pain for the Ukrainian people. In Ukraine, I have friends, students, colleagues, my audience, and simply strangers who today are courageously fighting not only for their land and their families, but also for truth, for justice, for light and love, and, most importantly, they are fighting for all of us. Yes, indeed for all of us. For our civilization. Because the fundamental question raised today is: what exactly is our biological species, Homo sapiens? Are we animals? Are we ruthless machines? Who are we? Are we human beings? And if we are human beings—human beings in our highest manifestation—if I am a human being in the highest anthropological sense, what does that mean?

This is how the question stands now. And my personal answer to this question is: I am a conscious, living, rational, and spiritual being. I am one who is capable of loving. I am one who is capable of feeling compassion. I am one who is capable of helping. I am one who has been given the highest and primary value—to bear the Light. And this is the most crucial lesson we can draw from this tragedy, and this is the highest reward that we, despite all this hell and nightmare, can salvage from what is happening.

I live in Warsaw. And today here in Poland, we spend entire days helping our Ukrainian brothers and sisters. We work tirelessly, doing everything in our power—physically, morally, and spiritually. We help our colleagues—Ukrainian actors, directors, theater workers—we try to provide assistance to all people, to everyone in need, to the greatest extent possible. We suffer together with the entire Ukrainian nation, though, of course, our suffering cannot be compared in degree to what is experienced by the people who are currently under the bombs of the Russian aggressor.

I do not want to write much about Putin or the Russian authorities, because these people do not deserve it. And I truly, sincerely pity them, because what they have committed and continue to commit is an incredible evil, creating a hell into which they have sent themselves. They are in hell. For hell is not a place where bombs fall and people die; there is tragedy there, there is pain, but there is also the Light radiating from the souls of innocently suffering people on whose side stands the truth—the highest truth of life. Hell is the dark gloom in a person's soul that engulfs the entire human being and blocks access to Light, love, and the Supreme power of wisdom. And such a hell is the most terrifying thing that can ever happen to us. May God save us from this.

Today, the people in whose hearts this hell has arisen are fighting under the Russian flag, calling themselves Russians. But does evil have a nationality? Does darkness have a nationality? Does the Devil have a nationality? Right now in Russia, there are incredibly courageous, brave people who, risking their lives (and these are no longer loud words, but reality), are doing everything in their power to somehow stop this madness. They are doing everything possible to bear the light, to help those in need of assistance to the best of their abilities. And today, to one degree or another, everyone is in need of help.

My friends from the Russian television company Dozhd or the Echo of Moscow radio station and other media (true heroes), risking their own lives and the lives of their families until the very last second, went on air and reported the truth about the horrors of this war and the atrocities of the Russian authorities. Now they no longer have such an opportunity—all oppositional (read: honest) media on the territory of Russia have been shut down. Yet, honest and conscientious people still continue to take to the streets, knowing full well in advance that they will be arrested. Brave journalists still attempt to speak out about the crimes of Putin's regime, exploiting any remaining loopholes, of which, in reality, almost none are left.

Today I am constantly asked: why is your Russian people silent? Why do the Russian people support Putin or try to remain neutral? But the point is that there is no such phenomenon as "the Russian people" in a social and political sense. The 140 million people living on the territory of Russia are individuals of different nationalities and, most importantly, of absolutely different ethical and moral values. There is no single concept of "the Russian people." There are individuals who, by virtue of their development—moral, psychological, spiritual—think and commit certain acts and actions.

The world has long ceased to be divided into peoples and nations. The line of division has long run inside each individual human being. To say that the Russian people are inactive or support Putin means nothing. Because the Russian people includes me, who over the last few days has been busy helping Ukrainians for 20 hours a day, and it includes my friends who, risking their lives, are doing everything in their power.

And yes. Officially, at this moment, Russia is committing a monstrous thing—killing its Ukrainian brothers and sisters. But, I repeat, what is this "Russia"? Putin? His government? Is that Russia? These terrible people only shield themselves with Russia to perpetrate the evil they commit. And yes, I do not absolve myself of responsibility for what has happened and continues to happen. Yes, my generation of Russian artists in the early 2000s was too preoccupied with our careers, with our personal art, deliberately isolating ourselves from politics, mistakenly believing that an artist stands aloof from political turmoil. And this led to the situation where a deranged Russian president was able to orchestrate this entire nightmare.

But will it be fair toward us—those who hold a Russian passport and speak the Russian language—will it be fair to direct at us the same aggression and evil that Putinists today direct at Ukrainians and, what is particularly important, direct at their own people?

A massive tragedy has befallen Ukraine. And a massive tragedy has happened to Russia. And therefore, I ask you, Lithuanians, who once also became victims of the Soviet occupation, I ask you not to merge into one whole the communist regime of the USSR, the Putin regime, the Russians who support the war in Ukraine, and those who, holding Russian citizenship and speaking the Russian language, are today, just like you, waging a liberation struggle against tyranny, evil, and aggression. And even less so, do not project your—certainly justified—anger onto Russian writers and artists, both classics and our contemporaries, because all of them (us) write and speak about the most important thing—the victory of Light over Darkness.

The law of Darkness is such that it lures one onto its territory through aggression and, by making a person aggressive, infects their heart. Because when we are aggressive, we automatically find ourselves on the side of Darkness, even if we believe we are fighting it. You cannot fight Darkness, you cannot wage war against Darkness; Darkness can be defeated in only one way—with Light. Light dissipates Darkness. And as John the Apostle said: "Where there is Light, there is no Darkness at all." So let us all together radiate Light, which—and of this there is no doubt—will sooner or later inevitably dissipate the Darkness.

Ivan Vyrypaev,
Russian and Polish playwright and director

The reading will take place online, with a live stream on the festival’s website and on YouTube.
You are warmly invited to listen!
The full text of the play will be posted right here on the website on the morning of September 11. Welcome to everyone who is interested.

Ivan Vyrypaev is launching a training course for playwrights and directors in Poland. The course was co-founded by the production company WEDA PROJEKT and the Theatre Institute in Warsaw.

The classes will be conducted in Polish. The student selection process is currently underway.

For more details and application info, please follow the links below:

https://www.facebook.com/STIwanaWyrypajewa https://www.instagram.com/ivan_vyrypaev_theatre_school/

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Drodzy przyjaciele!

Otwieramy kurs dla dramatopisarzy i reżyserów. Projekt organizowany jest przez dom produkcyjny WEDA PROJEKT w partnerstwie z Instytutem Teatralnym w Warszawie oraz we współpracy z wieloma polskimi teatrami.

Liczba miejsc jest ograniczona. Dzisiaj rozpoczynamy rekrutację kandydatów, która będzie przebiegała w kilku etapach.

Wszystkie szczegóły w linkach poniżej. Zapraszam wszystkich zainteresowanych.

https://www.facebook.com/STIwanaWyrypajewa https://www.instagram.com/ivan_vyrypaev_theatre_school/

Friends! A few years ago, my friend Kazimir Liske tragically passed away. He was a friend to me, to all of us, and to my family. Just a few hours before his death, I wrote a poem for my play Iran Conference and sent it to him. By an incredible coincidence, the theme of that poem was death. I will never know if he actually managed to read it.

But from that exact moment, poems began to pour out of me. I am a playwright; I don't write poetry. Moreover, with Vera Polozkova and Dmitry Bykov around, it felt almost inappropriate for me to write poems. But... they happened anyway. They kept coming out of me for several years. And now they have stopped. I am no longer writing poetry. That's it.

But now, we have made a film. "We" means Okko Theater, the Okko platform, Adresfilm, my friend and associate Veta Krechetova, and the entire crew. My Polish company WEDA, my friend and partner Piotr Duda, and his company. Forgive me for not naming everyone individually — this post would turn out far too long.

And, of course, the film features the most beautiful actress in the universe, Karolina Gruszka, and our daughter, Maya. Also, my maestro Andrey Samsonov wrote — no, created — the music. It is pure genius!

In short! To everyone reading this — you have never seen me write about my own productions or plays like this before. Usually, I only post about meditation. But right now, I want to say: this is awesome! It truly turned out incredible.

We had the cinematographer Bartek Nalazek from Los Angeles onboard. The scenography is by the brilliant Anna Met. The music, the visuals, the grading, the sound — it is an absolute masterpiece. I have never written about any of my works this way. But this is It! And only because of Kaz! Polina, Miriam, Galya, Johan, Odin, Steven, Jo... and, of course, the one to whom this is dedicated — Oliver, my boy. Years of life. And here we are.

Friends, it turned out incredibly well. Please watch this film with high-quality sound, on a big screen, in the evening with a glass of wine. This piece of work is very subtle, refined, and elegant.

At the end of March 2021, I finished working on a new play. Under the terms of the contract with the producer, I cannot publish the text of the play or even describe its content. All I can say at this point is that there are three characters in the play: two women and a man. The characters are US citizens.

The theme: all these new ideas and new meanings, including "building a life on Mars" and so on, will not help us. Because nobody is going to help us at all. Well, of course, this is a very rough description of the theme. I hope the play is not that primitive. There is a lot of humor in it, and it is gritty.

A review from my favorite US actress, Jordan Frye: “Very funny and very gritty.”

Well, in short, everything just the way we like it. The premiere of the performance is scheduled for autumn 2021. On which stage? I can't say just yet. If any theater wants to read the play for a potential staging, please contact us directly, and we will provide you with the script in a special format.

In January 2021, I completed my work on a new play based on extensive scientific research. Generally speaking, it is a play on a scientific topic. It features three characters: two women and a man. All of them are scientists taking part in a classified scientific study.

This play is, among other things, about the coronavirus. I have often been asked if I planned to write on the topic of COVID-19. Well, now I have. Although the play is set in 2019, just before the pandemic hit the world, and there isn't a single direct mention of the coronavirus, the theme is nevertheless present.

However, the main theme of the play is ecology and the catastrophe that awaits us if we do not act immediately. Currently, I am working on filming a television theater production based on this play for Polish television. Poland has a dedicated TV channel called "Television Theater" (Teatr Telewizji), which is a very popular art form in the country, with productions watched nationwide. My colleagues and I will start filming at the end of May, and the film will be released in the autumn. Following its release, I will make the script available right here on this website.

In the autumn of 2020, together with producer Veta Krechetova (Adresfilm) and the Polish film company Apple Film Production, we began working on a feature-length fiction film based on my script, titled Siberia.

Anyone who is interested in this project can view the official project presentation.

For me, this is a deeply important project. Firstly, because of its plot. Secondly, because of the team. Outstanding professionals are working on this film — including the legendary director of photography Paweł Edelman (cinematographer for Roman Polanski’s films, including The Pianist, among others). The process is highly complex and exciting. Preliminary filming is scheduled for autumn 2021.