Zapoi!

Written by Quinn Armstrong
Directed by Kaytlin McIntyre

Jan 30 – Feb 21
Thu, Fri & Sat at 8pm | Mon, Feb 9 industry night
All Thurs PWYC
$20 general/$18 advance tickets
$12 senior, military, TPS / $5 student

Fleeing the censorship of Soviet Russia, a brilliant composer stumbles upon a strange town where all of Russian history is happening at once. Saints and spies, performing bears and falling cosmonauts — all collide in the shadow of the candy factory in this dark and delicious phantasmagoria.

“‘Zapoi’ is Russian slang, dating back to at least the 19th century, for the national habit of going on days-long benders so catastrophic that, as one ethnographer reported to the Anthropological Society of London in 1870, they ‘are regarded as a disease.’ The word doesn’t appear anywhere besides the title in Quinn Armstrong’s world-premiere comedy at Annex Theatre, but it could be a one-word summary of a sprawling fantasia that treats Russian suffering and derangement as an endemic sickness…. It’s a delirious and damaged run at Our Town, filtered through the battered kidneys of Russian history…. Kayla Walker gives a commanding performance as the KGB agent Oksana, a woman with 1940s Hollywood glamour and torture chambers hidden behind her meticulously charming smile…. Zapoi! tends to be funniest when things are at their worst…. its darkness is delightful.” – The Stranger

Zapoi!, the new play from writer Quinn Armstrong that is playing at Annex Theatre through February 21, is surrealist and ambitious…. it is a play that I hope a lot of people see and think and talk about. It’s what Annex Theatre likes to call a ‘#BoldNewWork.’ Armstrong and director Kaytlin McIntyre deserve credit for creating a work that never feels predictable…. What I found so timely and relevant about Zapoi!, was that the subjects of free speech and free will come up and they’re impossible to ignore…. there are so many ideas coming out of Zapoi! in its two and a half hours, that they all can’t be explored fully, and really shouldn’t be. It leaves a lot to the audience to continue the conversation afterward.” – The Journal of Precipitation

CAST
Kevin Bordi Matvei, Yuri the Cosmonaut
Nathan Brockett Alexei, Violin Bear
Ben Burris Andrei, Comedy Bear, Man in Black
Sophia Franzella Anastasia
Frank Lawler Kiril
Jordi Montes Anna, Joan
Carol Thompson Sobaka
Kayla Walker Oksana
James Weidman Pericolo
DESIGN TEAM
Scenic Designer Catherine Cornell
Lighting Designer Ryan Dunn
Sound Designer Alex Potter
Properties Designer Brandon Estrella
Costume Designer Arin Larson
PRODUCTION TEAM
Assistant Director Zoe Wilson
Stage Manager Mike Hennessy
Poster Designer Keara Burton
Musical Director Matt Giles
Fight Choreographer Caleb Penn
Voice Over Actor Alex Matthews
Technical Director Ian Johnston
Production Manager Kaeline Kine
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