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New York Times Critic's Pick

“Ingenious! It left me wanting more…”

  The New York Times

New York Times

“Artistically ambitious! Golyak is among the most inventive directors working in the United States”

  The New York Times

Igor
Golyak

Director, Live & Virtual Theater
Founder, Arlekin Players Theatre

"Theater is the most practical magic we possess"

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MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV

Academy Award Nominee

Founder, Baryshnikov Arts Center

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Pay attention to this!

You want to see it.

Igor discovers a kernel of something true that is then

revealed and amplified.

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JESSICA HECHT

Tony Nominee

(Breaking Bad, Friends)

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Within five minutes...

I was totally drawn in.

Igor understood Chekhov

in a way that I could

only dream about."

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WALL STREET JOURNAL

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An epic and intimate drama...  stark and uncompromising.

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TWO
NYTIMES
CRITICS' PICK

WSJ
BEST THEATRE
2024

FOUR
LUCILLE LORTEL
AWARDS 2025

35K+
GLOBAL
AUDIENCE

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4 Lortel Awards
WSJ Best Theater 2024

1941 Jedwabne pogrom examination.

Lortel Awards: Most awards of any production (2025).

NYT Critics' Pick.

Sold-out BAM and Classic Stage Company runs.

chekhovOS​

(starring Baryshnikov)

Interactive Gaming Theater
NYT Critics' Pick

Mikhail Baryshnikov and Jessica Hecht star in this groundbreaking interactive gaming theater BAM premiere that redefined virtual performance.

State vs.

Natasha Banina

Global Viral Hit | 40+ Countries

First professional pandemic production. Created from living room, reached global audiences. NYT Critics' Pick. Established Igor Golyak as virtual theater pioneer.

Just Tell No One

Lincoln Center | Ukrainian Response

World premiere featuring top actors in Ukrainian playwrights' response to Russian invasion.

Live-streamed worldwide.

Part of #Artists4Ukraine ($100K+ raised).

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IGOR GOLYAK

is a theater director who has collaborated with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Jessica Hecht, Chulpan Khamatova, T.R. Knight, and Bill Irwin, earning recognition from The New York Times as "among the most inventive directors working in the United States." Winner of 4 Lucille Lortel Awards and 7+ Elliot Norton Awards, his work was named Best Theater of 2024 by The Wall Street Journal. Featured on Good Morning America, he pioneered virtual theater during the pandemic, reaching 55+ countries and earning BroadwayWorld's Best Director of Streamed Production. A Ukrainian refugee who founded Arlekin Players Theatre 16 years ago, Golyak has reached 35,000+ people globally. "Igor's fearless exploration demonstrated that even during lockdown there was artistic possibility," says Baryshnikov.

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