Director Zhenya Berkovich's Play to Tour Israel Amid Her Imprisonment
The theater production "Our Treasure," the final directorial work by Zhenya Berkovich before her arrest, is scheduled to be performed in Israel in November. This tour offers an opportunity to focus on Berkovich's artistic contributions as a director, a perspective that has been overshadowed by her criminal case, conviction, and imprisonment.
Berkovich, along with playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, was arrested on May 4, 2023, on charges of "justifying terrorism" related to their play "Finist the Bright Falcon." In July 2024, both were sentenced to six years in prison, with Berkovich's sentence later reduced to five years and seven months. She is currently serving her sentence.
Prior to her legal troubles, Berkovich had a significant directorial career, graduating from the St. Petersburg Academy of Theatrical Arts and the Moscow Art Theatre School's directing program. Her work often explored individuals facing overwhelming circumstances, such as Joan of Arc, Joseph Brodsky, children in war, and women influenced by foreign ideologies. In 2018, she founded the independent project "Daughters of SOS," which produced plays like "Finist the Bright Falcon" and "Our Treasure."
"Finist the Bright Falcon" examined how Russian women were recruited by radical Islamists online and traveled to Syria. The play, based on documentary material, investigated the mechanisms of manipulation driven by loneliness and emotional dependency, rather than terrorism itself. While it received critical acclaim and awards, the same material later formed the basis of the criminal charges, highlighting the distinction between artistic exploration and a system that might perceive understanding as justification.
While imprisoned, Berkovich reportedly worked on a puppet show and collected family stories for a potential new production. However, she was later prohibited from engaging in "performance activities" within the colony, including directing. It was clarified that "Daughters of SOS" itself announced the cessation of performances for several plays Berkovich was involved with, including "Our Treasure," making the notion of a specific official ban on that production inaccurate.
The upcoming Israeli tour of "Our Treasure" centers on the value of individual human life, independent of state or ideological influence. The play's themes are now viewed through the lens of the author's own circumstances. The tour aims to engage with Berkovich's theater, where she previously sought to understand individuals facing adversity, rather than focusing solely on her legal case. The distance between the imprisoned director and her still-touring work underscores the ongoing existence of her art, even as she is denied the ability to create it.
