Anya Grebennikova’s Childhood is inspired by the autobiographical story of the same name by Leo Tolstoy, where the writer turns to his childhood memories and creates an integral narrative of them. Initially, the project was conceived as a staging of Tolstoy’s story, but then Anya Grebennikova decided to tell about her own childhood, building on the text of the great Russian classic.

The play consists of thirteen acts, and the action starts in the 19th century in Nikolenka’s room. Gradually, the room turns into an abstract space filled with many symbolic objects that refer to the artist’s own childhood. Thus, the play turns into an autobiography, told through the prism of children’s fantasies, memories, and images, filled with many references to iconic works of art from different historical eras and cultural periods.