Kaluga, April 7, 2025 – The Europe Today: The visionary minds of Elon Musk and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky will share a fictional stage for the first time in a play that dares to bridge centuries. Titled Elon Musk and Tsiolkovsky, this new science fiction work will debut as a staged reading at the 6th Tsiolkovsky International Space Film Festival, set to run from April 12 to 16 in Kaluga—the historic home of the Russian-Soviet rocketry pioneer.
Written by Gleb Danilov and presented by the local company Teatr Sela (Theater of the Village), the play explores an imagined meeting between the founding father of astronautics and the 21st-century entrepreneur who’s launched humanity’s renewed ambitions for Mars and beyond.
“At the heart of the story are two figures from entirely different eras, yet both are deeply connected to space,” Danilov explained. “One is the founding father of astronautics; the other is the founder of a space company. Musk and Tsiolkovsky meet and realize that despite their differences, they have much in common.”
Directed by Danila Drobikov, the staged reading will blend elements of traditional theatre with creative interactions. Actors will rise from their seats to deliver dramatic moments, and the character of Tsiolkovsky will even sing. The audience will be invited to take part in the performance, breaking the fourth wall in playful ways.
The story is set entirely within Tsiolkovsky’s real-life Kaluga home, now a museum, transforming it into a symbolic ground where the dreams of yesterday meet the challenges and innovations of today. Through dialogue and theatrical expression, the play explores the philosophical and scientific ideals that connect the two thinkers: one who envisioned the path to the stars in the 19th century, and one who is building the rockets to get there.
The festival, supported by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives and major organizations including Roscosmos and the Gagarin State Cosmonaut Training Center, will feature 100 films chosen from over 2,200 submissions. Works from 25 countries—including China, Israel, India, Mexico, and South Africa—will compete across a range of genres, from documentary to animation.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, born in 1857, was among the first to theorize space exploration. In 1903, he developed the rocket equation that forms the basis of modern propulsion systems. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, continues to transform those visions into reality with reusable rockets, interplanetary missions, and space commercialization.
Their imagined meeting on stage offers not just a speculative exchange of ideas, but a theatrical tribute to the enduring spirit of exploration—and to the minds that dare to dream beyond Earth.
