"On the Threshing Floor" — CHARACTERS Theatre

Theatre

• Academic Russian Drama Theater
• 03 Dec 2026 - 03 Dec 2026

CHARACTERS Theatre, with the support of the British Council, presents its production of “On the Threshing Floor”, based on the play of the same name by British playwright Rory Mullarkey.

“On the Threshing Floor” is a coming-of-age story set against growing class divisions and the collapse of a familiar world. Through a series of short scenes, the production’s director Mikayil Merdinli takes the audience from the fields and harvest to the mill, bakery, cheese-making shed and tannery, observing people’s work, everyday lives and relationships. Against this backdrop, the established order rapidly breaks down: a new government arrives, rules change, and so do ideas about the future. At the centre of the production are three disoriented young people – Axford, his sister Elstead, and Merton, a young man from the city — whose lives are caught on the threshing floor of history, at a turning point when the old world disappears.

Rory Mullarkey is an acclaimed, award-winning playwright, librettist, and translator whose work has been produced across the UK and internationally.

“On the Threshing Floor” is the result of the “CHARACTERS on Stage” project, supported by the British Council through its “Connections Through Culture” programme.

Playwright: Rory Mullarkey
Director: Mikayil Merdinli
Production Designer: Rufana Mamedova
Producer: Ismayil Iman
Translation: Svetlana Turan

Cast: Mammad Rafiyev, Atika Aliyeva, Aliulla Veliyev, Avsaddin Alakbarov, Farid Ismayilov, Rashad Aliyarov, Sabina Asim, Fidan Aghaverdiyeva, Ergun Jamalzadeh and Rizvan Alasgar.