Musician and performer Federica Rosellini brings to the stage *Ivan and the Dogs* by British playwright Hattie Naylor, a play nominated for an Olivier Award in the “Outstanding Achievement” category. A tender yet desperate solo performance—an intimate and personal song from the soul—that speaks to the childhood we all share.
Ivan and the Dogs
Hattie Naylor / Federica Rosellini
1 hour 10 minutes
Ivan and the Dogs
Hattie Naylor / Federica Rosellini
1 hour 10 minutes
Moscow, the 1990s. Boris Yeltsin’s Russia is a country on the brink of collapse, where poverty empties homes and frays family ties. Ivan is four years old and lives with a fragile mother and a violent man who, blinded by vodka, wants to get rid of him. One day, the boy puts on his heavy coat, slips two bags of potato chips into his pocket, and runs off into the city’s freezing cold.
Thus begins a brutal and moving odyssey, told like a dark fairy tale: amid hostile streets, hunger, and loneliness, Ivan finds refuge in a pack of stray dogs that welcomes him as one of their own. In that makeshift community, the boy discovers a new chance at survival, but also an unexpected form of love and belonging.
Alone on stage with her electronic instruments, Federica Rosellini transforms the story into a sonic and physical experience. Her mother’s voice, recorded in Russian, intertwines with melodies, lullabies, and rhythmic beats, while body and speech weave an intense and visionary emotional score.