The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk

Written by Daniel Jamieson
Directed by Emma Rice

Perhaps you’ve seen them floating over a Russian village?
Or perhaps you’ve seen her toppling forward, arms full of wild flowers,
as he arches above her head and steals a kiss.

Meet Marc and Bella Chagall! The flying lovers of Vitebsk! Partners in life and on canvas, Marc and Bella are immortalised as the picture of romance. But whilst on canvas they flew, in life they walked through some of the most devastating times in history.

Daniel Jamieson’s The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk traces this young couple as they navigate the Pogroms, the Russian Revolution, and each other. Emma Rice’s production is drawn in a theatrical language as fluid as Chagall’s paintings, and woven throughout with music and dance inspired by Russian Jewish tradition.

Perhaps you’ve glimpsed her rising like a kite, anchored to the earth only by his triumphant hand?
They are holding on to hope, to history, and to each other.

Winner of the Carol Tambor, Best of Edinburgh Award 2017.