Dedicated to the director Yuri Butusov, one of the essential voices of contemporary European theatre, the conference brings to Craiova two of the most important observers of his work: Maria Shevtsova, Professor Emerita of Theatre and Performance Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Roman Dolzhansky, theatre critic and former artistic director of the NET (New European Theatre Festival). Tehy will be joined by Iulia Colan, actress of the National Theatre ”Marin Sorescu” Craiova, part of the artistic team of his last project ”A Winter’s Tale” by William Shakespeare.
Born in 1961 in Gatchina, Butusov graduated from the Saint Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy, directing department, in 1996. In 2018, he was invited to take over the artistic leadership of the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow, and in 2011 he was awarded the Golden Mask Award for his production of ”The Seagull”. In 2022, following the invasion of Ukraine, he left Russia, publicly condemning the war, and continued his activity in Europe, in a path marked by the feeling of uprooting.
In the spring of 2025, Yuri Butusov began rehearsals for ”A Winter’s Tale” by William Shakespeare in Craiova, but the project remained unfinished. On July 9, 2025, the director tragically lost his life during a holiday in Bulgaria.
Starting from this meeting and from the traces left in the work process, the discussion, moderated by Raluca Radulescu, proposes a reflection on his artistic path, working methods and the impact he had in Craiova on those with whom he collaborated.
