CREMULATOR| Maksim Sukhanov

MAKSIM SUKHANOV IN THE PERFORMANCE “CREMULATOR”

On February 3, 2026, the Dailes Theatre will host a guest performance of Cremulator.

Project website: https://cremulator.net

World premiere: February 2024, Berlin

The central character, Pyotr Nesterenko, a former White Army officer, traces the path of many Russian émigrés after the October Revolution—from Constantinople to Belgrade and Paris. In Paris, he strikes a deal with the Soviet authorities and returns to the USSR, where a new and highly symbolic role awaits him: director of Moscow’s first crematorium.

In the early Soviet era, cremation was seen as a progressive and revolutionary practice—an efficient way to dispose of the dead. Nesterenko’s role, therefore, was of major importance. By day, he officially oversaw the cremation of ordinary citizens and members of the Soviet elite (including the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky). But by night, the same facility was used to secretly burn the bodies of those executed as “enemies of the people.”

This is a story about concealing and distorting the truth, about choosing one’s version of reality, about erasing history through fire. It is a powerful tale of exile, war, death, love, and belief.

CAST Pyotr Nesterenko — Maksim Sukhanov Vera — Svetlana Mamresheva NKVD Investigator — Igor Titov