The theater project »Black Box« is based on a play by Belarusian playwright Pavel Pryazhko and explores the complex intertwining of past and present in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc. »Black Box« addresses nostalgia, the longing for a childhood free of responsibility, and the disturbing repetition of behavior patterns shaped by a legacy of violence and oppression.
The characters in the play exist on two time levels: 1986 and 2016. 1986 is the second year of perestroika, and in 2016, Belarusian President Lukashenko is in his fifth term in office. In 1986, Alexey, Marina, Sergey, and Valery are twelve-year-old schoolchildren. In 2016, they are forty-two years old and seem to have been transported back to their former boarding school, where everything—except themselves—seems to have stood still in time.
The production explores the intersection of two realities: the filmed past and the immediate, lived present. Analog video formats explore on stage how visual material influences the perception of reality. Musician and composer Dmitrii Vlasik, known for his work with experimental sounds and electronic textures, is developing a composition for »Black Box.«

aliveduo is a creative partnership between Alena Starostina and Ivan Nikolaev, who emigrated from Russia to Dresden in 2022, where they had been among the leading figures of contemporary theatre. In Germany, they continue their practice in the field of time-based media. In their projects — whether theatre or film — they work with analog material, which they value for its tactile, physical imprint of time.