Your Chicago Guide’s tickets for two to the press viewing of Vladimir courtesy of Shattered Globe Theatre.
Shattered Globe Theatre opened its 36th Season with the Midwest premiere of Erika Sheffer’s Vladimir, an unflinching political drama of resistance directed by ensemble member Lou Contey. Vladimir is now playing through November 14, 2026 at Theater Wit. In a world where facts are manipulated and fear is currency, the truth becomes dangerous.
Set in Russia during the early 2000s amid the rise of Vladimir Putin and the Second Chechen War, the story follows Raya Bobrinskaya, an independent journalist and war correspondent who investigates government corruption and faces extreme danger and intimidation. Raya uncovers a story that could expose the truth behind a nation in transition. But when every headline comes with consequences and every source becomes a target, she must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice for the story.
Vladimir is a gripping political thriller about what happens when silence becomes complicity. The Second Chechen War lasted from 1999 until 2009 and resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. One of the darkest events of that period was the 2004 Beslan school siege in North Ossetia. Armed terrorists seized School Number One, taking more than 1,100 people hostage, most of them children and their parents. After three days, Russian security forces stormed the school amid explosions and gunfire. 334 people were killed, including 186 children.
The play also takes us back to the resignation of Boris Yeltsin on New Year’s Eve 1999, when the television station was tasked with broadcasting the historic moment. Cameraman Tristan Odenkirk has the unenviable job of capturing the president looking focused, composed and exactly where he is supposed to be on camera.
Echoing rather loudly the actual life and death story of the slain Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, Vladimir is not an easy viewing. The play unfolds not unlike a documentary, referencing historic events and the lessons they taught. As Raya investigates, the government begins finding ways to stop her. Threats aren’t enough, so the intimidation becomes much more personal. At one point, Raya is even poisoned through tea in her own home.
The ensemble makes history come to life on stage, engaging the audience not to look away, to remember, to feel angry and to crave justice. It is never easy to stand on the right side of history and to hold your ground under an authoritarian regime. Sounds painfully familiar and oh, so timely. Ultimately, Raya makes her choice to return to her home in spite of the danger that awaits her. And such bravery on display is always worth seeing.
We came away thinking that Raya has sealed her fate, just as Anna Politkovskaya once did, by not bending the knee to the government regime. A lesson for all of us, perhaps, in standing up for a worthy cause no matter the personal cost.
Vladimir is now on stage at the Theater Wit, 1229 West Belmont Avenue, in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Tickets are available here or by calling the box office at (773) 975-8150.