TRACT THEATRE PRESENTS
The Horses At The Window
by Matei Vişniec
directed by Svetlana Kifa
October 29 – November 2, 2025
Performed in Russian with English subtitles
The Horses At The Window is a striking play by acclaimed French author Matei Vişniec — the literary heir to Ionesco and Beckett.
A story of love and war, men and women, survival and hope. What has happened to them? What awaits them? Can we endure in this world, and how do we move forward? Come and witness the answers unfold on stage.
This is tragifarce at its most powerful — where laughter breaks through tears, and hope emerges from ruins. A genre where the comic and the tragic are forever entwined.
“We did not want the war; the others claim the same — and still half the world is fighting…” — Erich Maria Remarque
Playwright
Matei Vişniec playwright, poet and journalist, was born in Romania, and now lives in Paris. He began writing for the theatre in 1977. Early in his career Vişniec’s plays were banned by the Romanian censors. In 1987 he was invited to France by a literary foundation. While there, he asked for and received political asylum. After the fall of communism in Romania, in 1989, Vişniec became one of the most performed playwrights in the country. Vişniec gained international attention in 1992, with productions of Horses at the Window in France, and Old Clown Wanted at the “Bonner Biennale”. Since then, Matei Vişniec’s work has been produced in France, Germany, United States, Denmark, Austria, Poland, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Brazil, Romania, and Moldavia. Most recently, by a decree signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, Matei Vişniec became a Knight of the National Order of Merit.
Cast and Creative Team
Featuring:
Elena Uspenskaya
Svetlana Kifa
Lana Shipitsina
Olya Mikhailova
Grigory Korostyshevsky
Arnold Shvetsov
Andrey Kuznetsov
Vadim Kroll
Badimir Ananev
Director: Svetlana Kifa
Set Designer: Alexander Solodukho
Producer: Mikhail Galkin
Director
Svetlana Kifa is an Honored Artist of Russia and acclaimed actress and director. She began her career at the Buff Theatre in St. Petersburg, becoming one of its leading actresses, known for intelligent, vividly characterized roles. Currently, she performs at TRACT Theatre in New York. On stage, Kifa is always very contemporary, no matter the era her characters inhabit: Catherine the Great in the musical Casanova in Russia, or Eva in A. Nicolai’s tragicomedy Love to the Grave, Madame Thierbouche in É.-E. Schmitt’s The Conspirator, or Epiphany in B. Shaw’s The Millionairess. Her acting talent shines most in her ability not only to carefully construct the inner life of her heroines but also to observe them from a modern perspective.
She played the Pink Lady in Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s Oscar and the Lady in Pink. “There is something otherworldly in Svetlana’s performance. A certain higher wisdom. An angel in a pink uniform, a divine messenger tasked with showing the boy the way to salvation.”
She also played Shifra in E. Kishon’s Ktuba or the Marriage Certificate as well as in ”Raskolnikov and the Pawnbroker. Love Story” and Lady Larkspure Lotion by Tennessee Williams. Svetlana Kifa appeared in Alexander Galin’s movie Accident Victim and in opera productions at the Metropolitan Opera.
Alongside her lyrical roles, Svetlana creates vividly characterized comedic performances. Her talent shines in both lyrical and comedic roles, creating memorable, multi-dimensional characters. As a director, she successfully staged The Intruder by Maurice Maeterlinck in New York in 2023.