“Matches” is a scarce but poetic play about simple, seemingly aimless people on the bleak outskirts of a big city. People waiting for a trolley bus that never arrives. Nevertheless, they have a tumultuous inner life. What is the value of my life? Should I give up? Who will remember me? Despite this, or perhaps precisely because of it, the scenes are still funny. An honest, pathos-less mysterious material.

No matter how much we care for each other, we cannot fight the inevitabilities of life. But by holding onto each other, we can endure it. And doesn’t the fact that despite our insignificance, we still try with all our might to influence our surroundings and find harmony in it, to create connections with other insignificant people… doesn’t that make us poets?

Konstantin Steshik (1979) is a Belarusian playwright and poet. His texts have won several awards, and are known for their everyday poetry and sharp dialogue. Steshik describes the internal processes of the human psyche in their current state – in a fragmented, moody, torn and restless world. Johan Elm fell in love with “Matches” in 2019 when he participated in a workshop for young directors organized by the Golden Mask festival and the Russian Theater, where he staged three scenes from the play in a few days. The lead role was also played by Indrek Sammul at that time.