Six friends arrange to meet for a restful weekend on the lake. Throughout the play, which lasts for a day, the group spends its time pleasantly. They talk, eat, argue, play, and even try to match two of them who are not yet in a relationship. Seemingly nothing happens, but the “idyllic” lake scenes are interrupted and split by flashback scenes of the characters’ lives outside of that weekend; scenes that reveal the pain and violence in their private lives. The world presented is much less than perfect.

Written in 2014, The Lake describes the state of a society that creates a comfort and artificial reality for itself, in which it can hide from disturbing changes. 

“Where are you right now? Where would you like to be at the moment the world ends?”

Mikhail Durnenkov is a Russian playwright, screenwriter, and teacher, currently living in Helsinki. Durnenkov fled Russia to Finland shortly after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Durnenkov’s opposition to Russia’s war against Ukraine had severe personal consequences. Theatres in Russia stopped showing his plays, and there were calls to prosecute him for his anti-war stance.

Ariel N. Wolf is a theater director, movement director, teacher, and actor. In recent years, he has been creating works with his ensemble of performers, an independent group of actors and dancers. Wolf works as a director, choreographer, and dramaturg in different theatres, dance ensembles, and films.