The Novosibirsk theater «Red Torch» removed the play «The Case» from the schedule, which features a bribe to an official in its plot. «For technical reasons, today on the Main Stage instead of the play «The Case» we will show «Memorial Prayer». Tickets are valid. If you wish, you can return your ticket at the place of purchase», — says the official statement of the theater.
Meanwhile, the Novosibirsk publication NGS, citing informed sources, reported that the decision was made under pressure from law enforcement after a complaint from a dissatisfied viewer. Furthermore, the play «The Case» will no longer appear in the theater's repertoire.
The play has been on the «Red Torch» stage since September 2020. In the plot, a girl finds herself under investigation due to the fraud of her former fiancé, a swindler. They try to save the girl with a bribe to a state councilor.
The former director of «Red Torch», Alexander Kulyabin, who led the theater for more than 20 years, came under investigation in 2023: he was accused of illegally awarding a salary bonus to his son, the theater's chief director Timofey Kulyabin, a two-time winner of the «Golden Mask». In 2022, he condemned the invasion of Ukraine, resigned from the theater, and left the country. After this, his plays were removed from the repertoire, and his father was dismissed from the position of theater director. In April last year, the case against Kulyabin Sr. was sent to court.
Photo: NGS