July 13–14, 2019
Written by Olzhas Zhanaydarov
Translated from Russian by John Freedman
Directed by Jeremy Aluma
Featuring: Zhanna Albertini, Kim Fukawa, Marielle Issa, and Priyank Thakkar
Based on real events, Olzhas Zhanaydarov’s The Store exposes the brutal torment of a Kazakh migrant working in Moscow. Public indifference and a corrupt police force silence young victims lured from their homeland by a Kazakh trafficker. Promises of money, citizenship, and family reunification set the stage for a life of indentured servitude and abuse, a reality rationalized by religious interpretations of master and slave.
Performed as part of Staging the Stans