September 17 and 18, Croatian National Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
Piotr Fomenko's Theatre Workshop, Russia
directed by: Pjotr Fomenko

Piotr Fomenko, one of Russia's most renowned masters, acting teachers/directors, follows in the rich tradition in the Russian theater, that of master teachers who lead their own actor's studios, (the first was Konstantin Stanislavsky at the Moscow Arts Theater). In an illustrious, and, under the old Soviet regime, sometimes disputed career spanning half a century, Fomenko has been responsible for more than 70 works and through his teaching at GITIS (the Russian Academy of Dramatic Arts) has helped shape contemporary Russian theater. "What distinguishes Fomenko is his passionate desire to communicate exclusively on levels of dignity, intelligence, beauty and honesty. Fomenko does not shun the hard truths," wrote The Moscow Times. In 1993, Fomenko formed his own Theatre Workshop Piotr Fomenko.

During a four-month period in 1994, Fomenko and his young troupe of actors sat around a large table every day and read Tolstoy's War and Peace aloud. Fomenko's subsequent two-act play adaptation of War and Peace, which had its Russian premiere in February 2001, was considered the first successful attempt in the history of Russian theatre to stage the novel.