The Promise

The Promise takes place during the siege of Leningrad, as three teenagers are thrown together in an abandoned apartment. Together they forge a new family and dream of the promise of a better future. After the war, they are reunited when the two men return to the woman – the only woman they can ever love. She is forced to make a choice between the two that threatens their lives together and the future about which they have dreamed. Alexi Arbuzov’s play was an international success in the 1960s and marked Sir Ian McKellan’s Broadway debut. The Promise is a classic of Soviet theatre literature and a heartfelt drama of youth, romance and wartime.