Director, screenwriter and playwright Ivan Vyrypaev admitted that there is no work for him in Europe. He spoke about the difficult situation in an interview on Misha Poniatowski's YouTube channel.
"At the moment, of course, I am in a difficult situation. On the one hand, I live in In Poland, where the theater system simply works against me — I have nowhere to stage in the whole of Poland, they don't let me go to theaters with my actors," Vyrypaev said.
According to the director, he comes to Polish theaters with money for the production, with a team of stars and offers to "take him," they say no. He explained that theaters and actors in Poland are fully funded by the state, "it pays for their whims."
"Of course, I don't have a job here as such, there is no stage. It's the same in Europe. A playwright without a stage is not clear what it is. And, frankly, I do not know what to do," he said.
Vyrypaev stressed that he "still has the strength, he is at the peak of his capabilities," but he does not have the opportunity to work. The director added that it would be difficult for him to get to the Broadway, because for this "you have to live there."
"I'm looking closely at Broadway, and I think I could get my plays to run there. But to do this, you need to live there and get to know this system. But I am also 50 years old, I do not know if I will make it," Vyrypaev concluded.
As reported by EADaily, Vyrypaev has been living in Poland, where he created the production company WEDA. In May 2022, he decided to renounce Russian citizenship, at the same time he received a Polish passport.
After the start of the special military operation, he turned to 40 Russian theaters where his plays were performed, warning that he would transfer his royalties for productions to the funds of assistance to Ukraine, strictly for peaceful purposes.
In December last year, Vyrypaev would have been found guilty of spreading fakes about The Armed Forces of Russia. The director was sentenced in absentia to eight years of imprisonment in a general regime colony. Additionally, the director is deprived of the right to engage in activities related to the administration of websites or information and telecommunications networks for a period of 4 years.
In August of this year, the director's case was re-examined, he was sentenced to seven and a half years in a general regime colony.