Dom na Trubnoi

Apartment buildings are classic distorting mirrors of social structures. At a breakneck pace, Barnet energetically reimagines this motif, drawing parallels between the daily madness in the open stairwell of the eponymous building and its courtyard, and the hustle and bustle on the streets of the Soviet capital in the late 1920s. The young Paranya Pitunova, who has just arrived from the deep province, is overwhelmed by the commotion. Struggling initially to find a place to stay she lands in the house on Trubnaya and starts working as a maid for a barber and his wife, who exploit her. But after she is (accidentally) elected to the city council, she ends up conquering the building and the city. Barnet’s comedy is a celebration of movement, experimentation, and humor. (mg)