A press conference dedicated to the literary and musical project «Performance in the Dark» was held at the Agency for Creative Industries. Supported by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, the project will take place in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Ufa in 2026.
The participants discussed the project’s concept, upcoming productions, cast, and inclusive mission.
«Performance in the Dark» is a literary and musical production in which sight gives way to hearing, imagination, and emotion. In complete darkness, familiar theatrical elements — sets, costumes, and visual effects — disappear. The voices of the performers, live music, sounds, and the audience’s inner imagery come to the forefront.
«When the visual component disappears, the audience ceases to be an observer. It becomes a co-creator of what is happening, reconstructing the space, characters, and events through its own imagination. This is precisely where we see the project’s particular strength," said Igor Namakonov, General Director of the Federation of Creative Industries, producer, and moderator of the press conference.
Three Performances in Complete Darkness
The project will present three productions, each offering a distinctive emotional and artistic experience.
«The Musician» is a performance based on Vladimir Korolenko’s novella about a blind child growing up. In complete darkness, the audience discovers the world alongside the protagonist through sound, music, and emotion. Directed by Georgy Salnikov.
«For me, this is a performance about how a person learns to hear the world and find their place in it. Here, darkness is not a limitation but a special space for discovery — honest, profound, and deeply personal," said Georgy Salnikov.
«Marina Tsvetaeva’s Night» is a mystical immersion into the world of dreams, memories, and inner freedom, based on Marina Tsvetaeva’s essay «The Devil.» The production was created by director Anna Politova.
«Darkness makes it possible to erase the divisions within us that the human mind has created throughout the history of civilization. It was important for us to immerse the audience in an atmosphere of mystery — in the mystery of night in the broadest sense of the word. There, coming into contact with Tsvetaeva’s brilliant mind, the audience can experience that very ‘straightness of the back' and ‘truth of essence,'" said Anna Politova.
«Moths Around a Candle» is a sparkling comedy based on works by Arkady Averchenko about a failed attempt to create a theatre production with a large budget. Vladimir Bilyk’s production combines humor, live music, and expressive stage action.
«Comedy works particularly well in the dark: the audience cannot see the familiar stage compositions, but it can hear the rhythm, intonations, music, and the audience’s reactions. Imagination transforms every sound into an independent theatrical image," noted Vladimir Bilyk.
A Theatre to Be Experienced
The project’s creators emphasize that «Performance in the Dark» was conceived not only as an unconventional theatrical format, but also as a space for dialogue about empathy, inclusion, and the diversity of human perception.
The productions feature professional artists and creative professionals with disabilities. The project’s participants include blind musician, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist Alexey Gerashchenko; artist, actor, athlete, and motivational coach Alexander Pokhilko; and composer and musician Ludub Ochirov.
«In the dark, there is no longer any need to meet visual expectations. What remains are music, voice, energy, and contact with the audience. For an artist, this is a very precise and sincere dialogue," shared Alexey Gerashchenko.
According to Alexander Pokhilko, the performance offers a new perspective on conventional ideas about accessibility and helps reveal the creative potential of every participant:
«In this format, a person can focus on their abilities, experience freedom of self-expression, and see how many possibilities exist beyond familiar ways of perceiving the world.»
Music plays a special role in the creation of the project. In complete darkness, sound takes on a spatial quality and helps the audience navigate what is happening.
«Music does not accompany the action; it becomes part of it — helping the audience navigate, experience the events, and create its own images," noted Ludub Ochirov.
The project brings together partners from the fields of culture, creative industries, volunteering, and inclusive initiatives. They include the Agency for Creative Industries, the Federation of Creative Industries, the Tavrida art cluster, the All-Russian public movement «Volunteers of Culture," and the «AbiArt» public association.
«Every new project in the dark is an opportunity to broaden the understanding of accessible culture and demonstrate that inclusion can be not merely formal, but alive, emotional, and artistically compelling," said Natalia Krel, Director of the public association «Union of All-Russian and Leading Organizations of Persons with Disabilities ‘AbiArt.'"
«In this format, everyone can feel part of a shared event, discover new dimensions of perception, and encounter theatre in a new way," said Milena Bogdanova, head of the All-Russian public movement «Volunteers of Culture.»
«It is important for us to support projects that bring together professional art, a social mission, and a contemporary language of communication with the audience. ‘Performance in the Dark' creates precisely such a space — open to dialogue, experimentation, and shared experience," said Alyona Shmotyeva, Head of Strategic Partnerships at the autonomous non-profit organization Tavrida. Art.
Photos are available at
Recording of the live broadcast
More information about the project is available on the official website
The project’s creator and copyright holder is the Moscow State Budgetary Cultural Institution «
Project organizer: Autonomous Non-Profit Organization «Center for Sociocultural Programs ‘People IN'.»
The «Performance in the Dark» project is part of the organization’s inclusive initiatives. In 2024, with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, the «Concert in the Dark. Inclusion» project was implemented, featuring concert programs in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Tula. In 2025, it was followed by «Concert in the Dark. Inclusion 2.0," held in Odintsovo, Podolsk, Kolomna, Veliky Novgorod, Ryazan, and Penza.