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Evgenia Berkovich

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Evgenia Berkovich
Евгения Борисовна Беркович
Born (1985-04-29) April 29, 1985 (age 39)
Leningrad, Soviet Union
NationalityRussian
Alma materRussian State Institute of Performing Arts, Moscow Art Theatre School

Evgenia (Zhenya) Berkovich is a Russian theatre director, playwright, and poet. She is a member of Kirill Serebrennikov's ‘Seventh Studio’.

Since 5 May 2023, she has been under arrest for allegedly justifying terrorism and faces seven years in prison.

Biography

Family

Berkovich is Jewish. Her paternal great-grandfather, Lev Maizelis, was accused of conspiracy and executed in 1938.[1] Her maternal grandmother is Nina Semyonovna Katerli [ru], a writer, publicist and human rights activist.[2] Her grandfather wanted to be a director, but due to antisemitism in the USSR, was not accepted into any drama school. From him, Berkovich gained her love of theater.[3] Berkovich's parents are Elena Mikhailovna Efros, a human rights activist, and Boris Berkovich, a poet. Her parents divorced when she was a child, and her father immigrated to Israel and remarried. She has one sister, Maria.[1]

Berkovich is married to Nikolay Matveyev, also a theater professional.[4] They adopted two daughters, aged 13 and 15, in 2019.[5][6]

Career

In 2007, Berkovich graduated from the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts with a degree in theatre management. From 2003 to 2008, she worked at the Theatre of Youth Creativity in St Petersburg as a director and a teacher. In 2008, she enrolled at the Moscow Art Theatre School with a specialisation in directing, on Kirill Serebrennikov's course. During her studies, together with the directors Ilya Shagalov, Maxim Myshansky and Alexander Sozonov, she worked on the poetic performance Red Branch [Poetry of Megapolis], shown at Winzavod.

She staged The Lark as her graduation work. The play, shown in 2012 in at the Moscow Chekhov Art Theatre, used the trial of Joan of Arc as a metaphor for Russian court justice.[7]

That same year, as part of the ‘Platform project’ at the Winzavod, she staged the Russian premiere of Sergej Newski's opera Autland, based on texts and poems by people with ASD. The production has received mixed reviews from critics, some praised it for a "naive but accurate reflection" of Nevsky's music, while others mentioned ‘the flat drama and the cute but unnecessary directing’.[8][9] Berković's next work, the play "The Man Who Didn't Work. The Trial of Joseph Brodsky" (2012) was also met with a mixed reception. The play was based on Brodsky's poetry and Frida Vigdorova's recording of his trial.[10] Among her other works, the theatre community noted her "Sunny Line" based on Ivan Vyrypaev's play. The play was shown in 2018 at the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theatre.[11]

In 2018, Berkovich founded the independent theater company SOSO daughters.[1]

In 2020, Berkovich staged a play “Finist the Brave Falcon”, written by Svetlana Petriichuk in 2019. In 2022, the play received a Best Costume Designer award at the Golden Mask festival, Petriichuk won the Best Playwright award for her work.[12] The play is based on real life stories of Russian women who married radical Islamists and moved to Syria. Some of them returned to Russia and were arrested and trialed for assisting terrorism.[13][2][14]

Through the years, Berkovich was very active in charity. Among her projects were the “I’m not alone” festival and camp for children living in orphanages.[12] During the camp the children, with the help of professional directors, staged five performances which were then performed in Moscow's leading theatres.[14]

State pressure and arrest

In May 2022, Berkovich wrote two poems about the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine. In the first one, a veteran grandfather appears to his grandson in 2022 and asks him not to wear his portrait in the parade. In the second poem she wrote about the Mariupol theatre airstrike.[14]

On May 4, 2023, Berkovich and her colleague Svetlana Petriichuk, also a playwright and a screenwriter, were arrested as suspects in a criminal case on “justifying terrorism” (Public calls for terrorist activities or public justification of terrorism, criminalised under Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of Russia) in “Finist the Brave Falcon”.[12] The criminal investigation against Berkovich and Petriychuk was opened following a report from the ultra-conservative and far-right “National Liberation Movement of Russia”.[15] Notably, the examination and the accompanying 125-page report were completed in just one day on 3 May.[16] On May 4, houses of Berkovich's mother and grandmother were searched by the police.[17] On May 5, both were put into a pre-trial Lefortovo Prison for two months. The prosecution relied on an expert examination by Roman Silantyev, who found in the play ‘numerous justifications of ISIS’, and called its feminist approach ‘radical’ and threatening the Russian State.[13]

The case has caused a wide public outcry. After the arrest, Novaya Gazeta published an open letter of support, demanding the immediate release of both women. Dmitry Muratov expressed support for the filmmakers and called the case against them political persecution. Independent experts mentioned that the play carried a clear anti-terrorist message. The letter was signed by more than 16,000 people.[18]

As of June 2023, both Berkovich and Petriychuk are facing seven years in jail.[19]

In September, their detainment was extended.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b c Paramonova, Zinaïda (10 May 2023). "«Они сдохнут, а ты останешься». Кто такая Женя Беркович, которую обвиняют в оправдании терроризма" ["They'll die, but you'll still be here." Who is Zhenya Berkovich, the woman accused of justifying terrorism]. Novaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b Palmer, Joanne (2023-05-11). "More Jews are arrested in Russia". Jewish Standard. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  3. ^ "«Хочу для нее нормальной жизни. Не хочу героизма» Интервью Марии Беркович. Ее сестру Женю отправили в СИЗО за театральную постановку" ["I want a normal life for her. I don't want heroism." Interviewing Maria Berkovich. Her sister, Zhenya, was detained for staging a theater piece]. Meduza (in Russian). 5 May 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Театральную режиссерку Женю Беркович задержали по обвинению в «оправдании терроризма»" [Theater director Zhenya Berkovich detained on allegations of "justifying terrorism"]. Radio France Internationale (in Russian). 4 May 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  5. ^ "«Я сейчас мама, а не режиссер. Мне надо обнять детей, которые сходят с ума» Речь Жени Беркович в суде. Ей и драматургу Светлане Петрийчук продлили срок ареста еще на два месяца" ["Now I am a mother, not a director. I need to hug my children, who are losing their mind" Zhenya Berkovich speaks in the court. Both she and the playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have had their detainment extended for another two months]. Meduza (in Russian). 30 June 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  6. ^ "«Мои девочки видели в детдомах тысячи детей, которым мамы не могут позвонить из тюрьмы» Женя Беркович передала записку из СИЗО, где она сидит уже четыре месяца" ["My girls have seen thousands of children in orphanages, whose mothers could not call them from prison." Zhenya Berkovich sent a message from the detention center, which she has been detained in for four months]. Meduza (in Russian). 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  7. ^ Emiliya Dementsova (2012-02-14). "Как сделать народ счастливым принудительно? «Жаворонок» в МХТ имени Чехова: маленький суд как отголосок большого судилища" [How to force people to be happy? "Lark at the Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre: a small trial as an echo of a big trial] (in Russian). Komsomolskaya Pravda. Archived from the original on 2018-06-21.
  8. ^ Pospelov, Peter (2012-03-20). "«Опера Autland на Винзаводе: Музыке Сергея Невского не повезло с театром»" [Opera 'Autland' at Winzavod: Sergej Newski's music has no luck with the theatre] (in Russian). Vedomosti. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  9. ^ Karas, Alena (2012-03-21). "Опера в ауте" [Opera in aut] (in Russian). Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  10. ^ "Сергей Капков открыл „Четвертый театр"" [Sergei Kapkov opens the Fourth Theatre] (in Russian). Izvestiya. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  11. ^ Komok, Olga (2018-04-13). "Спектакль „Солнечная линия" на Новой сцене Александринского театра" ["Sunny Line" at the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theatre] (in Russian). Delovoy Peterburg. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  12. ^ a b c "Letter in Support of Eugenia Berkovich and Svetlana Petriichuk". Jordan Russian Centre. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  13. ^ a b "Russian theatre director Evgenia Berkovich and playwright". Novaya Gazeta Europe. 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  14. ^ a b c Smorodinova, Elena (2023-05-04). "Задержали театрального режиссера Евгению Беркович. Главное, что о ней нужно знать" [Evgenia Berkovich arrested. What we should know about her] (in Russian). Daily Afisha. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  15. ^ "Theater director Evgeniya Berkovich remanded to two months behind bars in "terrorism justification" case". The Insider. 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  16. ^ "Спектакль потянул на дело. Кто такая Женя Беркович и что ей вменяют" [The play pulled a case. Who is Zhenya Berkovic and what is she charged with] (in Russian). Fontanka. 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  17. ^ Lebedeva, Olga (2023-05-04). "В Москве задержана режиссер Женя Беркович" [Theatre director Evgenia Berkovich detained in Moscow] (in Russian). Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  18. ^ "'Persecute murderers instead of poets': over 16,000 people sign letter in support of Russian director". Novaya Gazeta Europe. 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  19. ^ "Женю Беркович и Светлану Петрийчук арестовали за спектакль. Вот как это дело может повлиять на российское общество" (in Russian). Meduza. 2023-05-08. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  20. ^ "Суд продлил арест Жене Беркович и Светлане Петрийчук" [Court extends detainment of Zhenya Berkovich and Svetlana Petriichuk]. Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 6 September 2023.
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