A touching story of real heroes: the play "Sisters" was presented at the National Centre RUSSIA

On the eve of Mother's Day, on Saturday, November 23, the musical and poetic play "Sisters" was presented at the National Centre RUSSIA. The performance is dedicated to the mothers, wives, and sisters of participants of the Special Military Operation. The performance is based on documentary monologues of women whose stories inspire and deeply move the soul. The project is supported by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives (PFCI).

The script of the documentary play "Sisters" was written by front-line documentary filmmaker, poet, and ideologist of the International Mobile Film Festival "Cinema in the Service of the Fatherland," Olesya Shigina.  

Photo: Press Office of the National Centre RUSSIA

The idea for the play was born during the filming at the front and behind the lines, in conversations with soldiers and their families. This performance is based on the documentary chronicle of a turning point in history.

"We brought the front here, its feeling, its rhythm, its heartbeat. And this is possible only when you’ve been through it yourself. It’s impossible to invent this. There isn’t a single invented word in the play. Everything that will be said on stage are the words of the heroines I met, the boys I filmed at the front," Olesya Shigina shared.

For the creators, it was important to show that each heroine is a real person living among us. They are different, but they share a will to gain Victory and devotion to the Fatherland, and an incredible ability to love. That’s why the authors say this performance is, first and foremost, about love: divine, universal love, the kind of love that not everyone is capable of. 

Photo: Press Office of the National Centre RUSSIA

"This play is full of love for us men, showing the love of all those women who are here today, who are involved in humanitarian aid, writing poems, telling stories, thinking about us, and praying," shared one of the fighters from the Special Military Operation, with the call sign Italian.

"Sisters" leaves no one indifferent: many viewers could not hold back their tears during the performance, and at the end, the applause went on for a long time. On stage, together with the creators of the play, the heroines themselves — mothers, wives, and sisters of the participants in the Special Military Operation — came forward. Olesya Shigina introduced each of them to the audience. 

Photo: Press Office of the National Centre RUSSIA

The final chord of the event was the song "Katyusha." According to Olesya Shigina, this is the favorite song of the fighters at the front. The actors and their prototypes were joined by the audience in performing it, expressing gratitude to the creators of the play.

The National Centre RUSSIA was established by order of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to preserve the legacy of the International RUSSIA EXPO and to showcase the achievements of the country and its citizens on a permanent basis. Federal government agencies, state companies, corporations, and regions take part in the Centre’s work.

The National Centre RUSSIA is located at 14 Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment, Moscow. The Centre is open from 10:00 to 20:00 every day except Monday.