In 1920, the Russian writer Isaac Babel wanders the countryside with the Red Cavalry. Seventy years later, a mysterious KGB agent spies on a woman in Dresden and falls in love. In 2010, an aircraft carrying most of the Polish government crashes in the Russian city of Smolensk. Describe the Night traces the stories of eight men and women connected by history, myth and conspiracy theories.

Time: 1920 – 2010

Places: Poland, Russia, East Germany

ISAAC*

Russian. He is the writer Isaak Babel

NIKOLAI*

Russian. Last name: Yezhov A Captain in the Russian Red Cavalry in 1920. Later, he is the head of Stalin’s Secret Police, the NKVD

YEVGENIA*

Russian. The wife of Nikolai Yezhov. Drawn to astrology and supernatural topics

VOVA*

Russian. A KGB agent, stationed in Dresden, east Germany, in 1989

URZULA

Polish, an immigrant living in Dresden

FELIKS

Polish. An orphan.

MARIYA

Russian. A journalist for a state-run newspaper in 2010

MRS. PETROVNA

Russian, the owner of a laundromat,

*denotes actual historical figure

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Sound and Lighting  Hendrik Chudoba

Production Photos  Tibor Thurnay

Props  Ralf Becker

Prompting  Sarah Leubner

GALLERY