A New Year Tale Gone Wild

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A New Year Tale Gone Wild is Fool House’s first stage production created from an entirely original script — making it a bold and unique addition to contemporary New Year theatre.

The project began as a search for a form: how could one create a New Year show for adults without repeating familiar holiday clichés? The final concept brought together beloved folkloric characters—Ivan the Fool, the Cunning Fox, Koschei the Deathless, the Crying Tsarevna, Ivan Tsarevich, and the most tender and iconic New Year figure of Slavic tradition, the Snow Maiden (Snegurochka).

But these characters are not what they seem.

Each of them carries a personal burden—a sin, a flaw, a trauma. Are these moral failures, personality disorders, or simply human weaknesses? All are united by a single desire: to find the Snow Maiden and ask her to fulfill their deepest wishes. Yet the Snow Maiden herself has withdrawn into the forest, exhausted by endless demands and expectations, hiding where no one can reach her.

As the story unfolds, the audience gradually realizes that the show plays consciously with the concept of the fourth wall. The characters exist in a layered metaverse that merges an enchanted forest, Ivan the Fool’s everyday reality, and the physical space of the Fool House studio itself—inviting spectators to feel like participants rather than observers.

Playwright Alexandra Obmanets united these bold ideas under the title “Neutrennik”—literally “Not an Utrennik”, or “Not a Children’s New Year Show.” In 2025, the play participated in Lyubimovka, the prestigious festival of new Russian-language drama.

Director Irina Lavrinenko shaped the performance into a rich ensemble piece that blends a bit of clowning, choreography, and visual effects, with live music becoming an essential part of the storytelling rather than a background element.

Audiences responded warmly to the production. Some viewers even described the experience as therapeutic, noting the deep sense of acceptance and empathy shown between characters—offering not only a New Year spectacle, but a space for self-irony and humour, reflection, recognition, and emotional release.

Our Creative Team