Timofey Kulyabin

Biography Highlights

Timofey Kulyabin is one of the most renowned theatre and opera directors. In 2015, he became the youngest chief director in Russia when he was appointed artistic leader of the Red Torch Theatre in Novosibirsk, a position he held until February 2022. Kulyabin is internationally known for his radical and conceptually precise reinterpretations of classical texts. His earlier theatre works that brought him world recognition include Three Sisters (Golden Mask Award, 2015), Children of the Sun (2018), The Trial (2016), and The Wild Duck (2021). His productions are regularly presented on leading European stages. 

The Master and Margarita at the Schauspiel Frankfurt (premiere February 2025), Mendelssohn’s Elijah at the Staatstheater Kassel (2026/27 season), Nora at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (2026/27 season), The Ghosts in Malmo (2026/27 season), 12 in Staatstheater Cottbus (2026/27 season), Stahltier starring John Malkovich and Veronica Ferres at the Staatstheater Cottbus ((2026/27 season), Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at the Bavarian State Opera, Munich (2026/27 season). Timofey Kulyabin will also be the Chief Director of Staatstheater Cottbus (from season 2026/27).

Recent works include Kolyma Tales at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, Miss Julie and Platonov at the Deutsches Theater Berlin, Macbeth at the Schauspielhaus Frankfurt, Fear and Misery of the Third Reich at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Long Day’s Journey into Night at the Radu Stanca National Theatre Sibiu, and Hedda Gabler at the Ivan Vazov National Theatre Sofia, Iphigenia in Aulis at the opening the Epidaurus Festival (2024) — the first production by a non-Greek director in the festival’s history, Pique Dame at the Opéra de Lyon, named “Performance of the Year” by Opernwelt, The Night of Broken Glass by Arthur Miller at the Teatrul Regina Maria, as well as the ongoing international tour of In the Solitude of Cotton Fields starring John Malkovich and Ingeborga Dapkunaite.

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