Photographer Dmitry Iskhakov is unveiling a striking new project titled Mirror at the Moscow Metro station Vystavochnaya. The space will host intimate photo portraits of actors from the Satyricon Theater, inviting commuters and visitors of the capital to view a curated selection that captures the energy, persona, and backstage humanity of stage life. The exhibition opens on October 28 and extends through January 17, inviting a broad audience to pause in transit and experience theater in a new way. The project has been described as a collaboration that connects the city’s public sphere with the performing arts, and the organizers emphasize it as a major cultural event for Moscow this season, as reported by the theater company and multiple cultural outlets.
Originally, the Satyricon ensemble encouraged Iskhakov to refresh the theater’s online gallery with updated photographs. The photographer, however, envisioned a broader presentation, culminating in a full exhibition that showcases some of the most daring and provocative moments captured during recent shoots. This shift from a simple update to a comprehensive exhibit underscores the artist’s willingness to push boundaries while remaining deeply respectful of the theater’s creative process. The selection aims to reveal not only the polished public faces of the actors but also the candid, unguarded expressions that reveal character under light and lens, providing a richer sense of how the actors inhabit their roles both on and off stage.
The title Mirror carries layered significance. It references the classic acting exercise in which one performer mirrors the movements and rhythms of another, a method used to cultivate timing, empathy, and a collective rhythm on stage. It also nods to the ritual prelude of theater: makeup, voice preparation, and the meticulous articulation rehearsed in front of mirrors. Beyond technical connotations, mirror serves as a metaphor for the dynamic exchange between audience and stage, a dialogue characterized by immediate energy and emotional resonance. In the Satyricon interpretation, this reflexive relationship becomes a central thread of the work, inviting viewers to see themselves reflected in the performers and to sense the current between spectator and performance that animates live theater.
According to the theater, the eye to eye conversation established by the exhibition embodies the enduring value, vitality, and redemptive power of theater as an art form that remains vibrant in the present moment. The project frames theater as a living experience that continues to unfold in real time, rather than a finished product fixed in memory. By presenting these portraits in a public transit corridor, the exhibition makes an argument for theater as an immediate, accessible experience that can spark reflection and dialogue among diverse audiences, reinforcing the notion that art lives where people gather and move through daily life, right here and now. This approach aligns with the theater’s broader mission to bring bold, authentic storytelling to the city, inviting passersby to pause, observe, and engage with performers who inhabit public and private personas with equal force. The organizers emphasize that the photographs capture not just appearances, but moments of truth—fleeting clues to character, intent, and emotion that reveal the extraordinary potential of theater to illuminate the human experience.