The Only Tallest Trees on Earth is a new play by Ivan Vyrypaev that blends literary precision with absurdist theatre, drawing on the European tradition of postwar absurdism while addressing contemporary global realities. Through fictional American characters inspired by cinema and literature, the production develops Vyrypaev’s concept of integral art, where form, irony, and ethical inquiry function as a unified whole.
The play is a sharp satirical reflection on power, ideology, and personal responsibility in the modern world, engaging with themes of corporate influence, political rhetoric, and moral choice. Directed by Ivan Vyrypaev and Mykola Myshyn and featuring Chulpan Khamatova, Masha Mashkova, and Vasily Zorky, the project is a joint production by Teal House Foundation, Bird&Carrot Productions and Developing Artists, conceived for international audiences and well suited to partnership with theatres and festivals committed to socially engaged contemporary work.
The play is a sharp satirical reflection on power, ideology, and personal responsibility in the modern world, engaging with themes of corporate influence, political rhetoric, and moral choice. Directed by Ivan Vyrypaev and Mykola Myshyn and featuring Chulpan Khamatova, Masha Mashkova, and Vasily Zorky, the project is a joint production by Teal House Foundation, Bird&Carrot Productions and Developing Artists, conceived for international audiences and well suited to partnership with theatres and festivals committed to socially engaged contemporary work.
'In a world where prayers are not directed to God but to a tree, Vyrypaev poses the question of whether there is anyone left to forgive us. Who could forgive us for everything we’ve destroyed—in ourselves and in others?’
"The Tallest Tree on Earth" begins with a conversation between two women—Dorothy and Sandy—about a man named Bonch who lost his son in a tragic accident. The child drowned in a river, and every Saturday, Bonch goes to the park to a tree, asking for forgiveness. What starts as a personal drama quickly unfolds into a painful and satirical examination of today’s world.
Vyrypaev’s play presents guilt—starting with Bonch’s personal burden, unraveling into cynical dialogues between Dorothy and Sandy, and ultimately reaching a collective guilt: that of humanity. In a world where prayers are not directed to God but to a tree, Vyrypaev poses the question of whether there is anyone left to forgive us. Who could forgive us for everything we’ve destroyed—in ourselves and in others?
The play mocks the false ethics of modern times—life-coach culture, technological optimism, social clichés, and pseudo-spirituality. The author reveals a crisis where human relationships have lost their value, and progress its direction.
The world trembles like jelly, the characters say. And beneath its surface, there is nothing left to save. The play is a cry for forgiveness—not from God, but from the Tree itself, which remembers.
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Vyrypaev’s play presents guilt—starting with Bonch’s personal burden, unraveling into cynical dialogues between Dorothy and Sandy, and ultimately reaching a collective guilt: that of humanity. In a world where prayers are not directed to God but to a tree, Vyrypaev poses the question of whether there is anyone left to forgive us. Who could forgive us for everything we’ve destroyed—in ourselves and in others?
The play mocks the false ethics of modern times—life-coach culture, technological optimism, social clichés, and pseudo-spirituality. The author reveals a crisis where human relationships have lost their value, and progress its direction.
The world trembles like jelly, the characters say. And beneath its surface, there is nothing left to save. The play is a cry for forgiveness—not from God, but from the Tree itself, which remembers.
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