Pushkin House is excited to present the UK premiere of Quad Loop: A Play on the 2022 Winter Olympics & the Kamila Valieva Doping Scandal, written and directed by Inge-Vera Lipsius. 

“When you see her, do you forget? 

/ Yes. I forget. 

/ I forget it all.”

Quad Loop is the first play about the highly publicised scandal surrounding Kamila Valieva at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The 15-year-old Russian figure skater was the favourite to win, until a failed doping test turned her Games upside down. This new absurdist play delves into the role played by the media and the relationship between sport and politics, between Russia and the West. Who is to blame for the destruction of a young girl?

The text, composed by Dutch-American theatremaker and writer Inge-Vera Lipsius, combines direct quotations, references to press articles and sports commentary, and original writing. Quad Loop premiered at The Merchant House in Amsterdam last year; this English-language version of the play is Lipsius’ UK debut. The show, starring a young cast of women actors, will premiere in Pushkin House’s intimate Music Room with the audience seated on two sides, ahead of this year’s Summer Olympics.

Written and directed by: Inge-Vera Lipsius
With: Natalie Bottova, Gina Jamieson, Zoe Moore, Naomi Preston-Low

The start time is 7pm. No latecomers can be admitted 

Running time: 1 hour

Performed in English

This project is made possible by the AFK (Amsterdam Fund for the Arts), the Amarte Fund, the ICAR Foundation and crowdfunding platform voordekunst.

Photograph by Arjen Veldt from the performance at The Merchant House, Amsterdam. 

5A Bloomsbury Square London WC1A 2TA