Evgeniia Safonova

Evgeniya Safonova was born in Tomsk, Russia. After graduating from the State Theatre Academy in St. Petersburg as a theatre director and actress for theatre and film, she worked for two years as a resident director at the Alexandrinsky Theatre. Further productions followed at the Teatr Collegium Nobilium in Warsaw, Lensovet Theatre in St. Petersburg and Priut Comedianta Theatre in St. Petersburg. In 2012, Safonova spent two months in New York at the Lincoln Centre Laboratory. In 2015, she participated in the International Forum of the Berlin Theatertreffen. From 2019 to 2022, Safonova worked as a director and stage designer at the Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theatre in St. Petersburg, where she created productions including »Austerlitz« by W. G. Sebald (2019) and »Disgrace« by J. M. Coetzee (2022). In 2019, Safonova was awarded the International Stanislavski Prize in the Perspective category, and in 2020 she won the Golden Mask National Theatre Prize for Best Stage Design for »Austerlitz«. In 2022, she made her debut as a director and stage designer in opera with Béla Bartók's »Bluebeard's Castle« at the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre. The production was nominated for eight categories of the 2023 Golden Mask National Theatre Award, including Best Opera Production, Best Director and Best Stage Design. After Russian troops entered Ukrainian territory, Safonova decided to end her career as a theatre director in Russia and emigrate to Germany. She currently lives in Berlin, Germany. At Theater und Orchester Heidelberg, Evgeniya Safonova is staging »The Vegetarian« by Han Kang as director, stage designer and costume designer at the Alte Chirurgie in 2025/26.