Russian theater artists Yelena Gremina and Mikhail Ugarov recently passed away, both within the last year. This husband and wife team co-founded the Russian theater Teatr.doc (nicknamed Doc) in 2002, with Mikhail becoming the Artistic Director, and Yelena the Managing Director. Their theater was revered by younger audiences because they supported newer plays with characters that spoke like real people, which included mumbling or slurred words, language that young folks hear on the streets and use themselves. Teatr.doc is nothing short of revolutionary, and the deaths of its founders have brought about what journalist John Freedman calls “the end of an era.” He talks more about their lives and work in his heartfelt article, “With Yelena Gremina’s Death, Teatr.doc Enters a New Era.”
