"Nurturing Musicians, One Note at a Time."
New York City · Est. 1991
RomanFreud
Actor. Playwright. Artistic Director.
Illuminating the human condition through the art of theatre.
Born where the stage was already alive — and he never left it.
Roman Freud is a Moscow-born actor, playwright, and Artistic Director of Five Evenings Theater — one of New York City's vital forces in Russian-language and bilingual Off-Broadway theatre. A graduate of The Schukin Theater School in Moscow, he has built an extraordinary career spanning more than three decades across two continents.
A remarkable biographical detail anchors his life's work: Roman was born and spent his first eight years in the very building that once housed GOSET — the State Jewish Theatre led by Solomon Mikhoels. That proximity to one of Soviet Russia's most legendary theatrical institutions left a mark that would shape both his artistry and his subject matter for decades.
After graduating from the Schukin School, he joined the Moscow Jewish Chamber Musical Theater (KEMT), where he starred in all of the company's productions over six years, including Tango of Life, Lomir Ale Ineynem, and Fiddler on the Roof. As a company member, he toured and performed in New York, Melbourne, Milan, Rome, Budapest, and dozens of cities across the former Soviet Union.
Mr. Freud moved to the United States in 1991. Since then, he has appeared in over thirty New York productions and has been writing film and theatrical scripts in English and Russian since 2004. His work consistently explores themes of art, exile, identity, and historical memory — with a particular affinity for figures caught between cultures and epochs.
Plays as Playwright
★ World Premiere · Currently Running · Off-Broadway
Beneath the Ice of the Vistula
A powerful two-character drama set in Warsaw, 1939, on the brink of the Nazi invasion. Renowned Jewish composer Adam Kobylanski, determined to create his magnum opus, locks himself inside his Mokotów apartment, entrusting housekeeper Lydia Mazurik with the only key. What begins as a simple arrangement soon cracks open into a profound and volatile connection.
Their unlikely relationship deepens as war looms — and it is through art that both characters transcend the encroaching tragedy. A sweeping tale of artistic obsession, forbidden love, and the fragile, defiant beauty that can be created on the brink of oblivion.
A Five Evenings Theatre production in association with New Wave Arts Theatre Collective & EventMuze production company. Directed by Eduard Tolokonnikov. Roman Freud performs the role of Adam on select dates.
"From the very first moment, the audience felt like voyeurs, not just watching a play but being immersed in the drama and pathos… The dialog was rich and delivered with such poignancy and realism… A finer production would be difficult to imagine."
— ELJNYC Review
Aleksey Aleksandrovich
Enterprise Theater · NYC / thislifeart.com
Tolstoy's Anna Karenina retold through the eyes of her abandoned husband — a statesman of strong principles whose life is suddenly shattered. Directed by Gera Sandler. Runtime: 90 minutes. Performed in Russian with English subtitles.
Visit Production Site →Asteroid B-612
Enterprise Theater · NYC
What happened to the Little Prince of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry when he grew up? He became a lonely misanthrope, forever uncertain of his talent. He boards a plane to write a novel — but air travel is unreliable and dangerous.
Visit Production Site →Singing Windmills
PM Theater · NYC + National Tour
The story of the great Soviet-Jewish actor, director, and public figure Solomon Mikhoels — his talent, his work at GOSET in the 1920s–30s, and the shadow of Stalin's political repression. After two sold-out runs in NYC, the production toured the East and West Coasts.
PM Theater →Ask Joseph
Co-authored with Slava Stepnov · Steps Theater
Based on the life and work of poet Joseph Brodsky — his relationships with his parents, women, his homeland from which he was exiled, and the country that became his second homeland. Toured New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Moscow, and Saransk.
Five Evenings
Enterprise Theater · NYC
A tribute to the great Russian playwright Alexander Volodin. A love story set in the disturbing aftermath of WWII, in the shadow of Stalin's Gulag, and in the era of hope known as the Thaw. Roman Freud performs the role of Ilyin.
Toybele
Ready for Production
A touching, fairy-tale-like adaptation of Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Taibele and Her Demon" — the story of a small-town widow and a wedding jester who deceitfully enters her life.
Acting on Stage
Over 30 roles across New York's finest theater companies — from Chekhov to Bulgakov, from Singer to Gogol.
Roman Freud's stage career spans the full range of classical and contemporary dramatic literature in both Russian and English. He has worked with Steps Theater, Russian Art Theater and Studio, PM Theater, Enterprise Theater, and Five Evenings Theater — embodying figures ranging from Vershinin in Three Sisters to Voland in The Master and Margarita.
| Role | Play / Show | Playwright | Company | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilyin | Five Evenings | A. Volodin | Enterprise | 2025 |
| Dominique | Asteroid B-612 | R. Freud | Enterprise | 2024 |
| Karenin | Aleksey Aleksandrovich | R. Freud | Enterprise | 2024 |
| Paul Parsky | The Unexpected Man | Y. Reza | Steps Theater | 2024 |
| Granovsky / Zuskin | Singing Windmills | R. Freud | PM Theater | 2023 |
| Shvokhnev | Gamblers | N. Gogol | Russian Art Theater | 2019 |
| Petrovich | Overcoat | N. Gogol | Russian Art Theater | 2019 |
| Dorn | Seagull | A. Chekhov | Russian Art Theater | 2019 |
| Bologovsky | The Waiter and the Slut | N. Berberova | Russian Art Theater | 2018 |
| Jose Arcadio Buendia | Macondo (100 Years of Solitude) | G. Marques | Russian Art Theater | 2018 |
| Multiple Characters | Lady with a Lapdog and Other Stories | A. Chekhov | Russian Art Theater | 2017 |
| Voland | Master and Margarita | M. Bulgakov | Russian Art Theater | 2016 |
| Vershinin | Three Sisters | A. Chekhov | Russian Art Theater | 2015 |
| First Penguin | Meet at the Ark at Eight | U. Hub | Steps Theater | 2013 |
| Joseph | Ask Joseph | R. Freud / S. Stepnov | Steps Theater | 2012 |
| Medji | No Day, No Month, No Year (Diary of the Madman) | N. Gogol | Steps Theater | 2011 |
| Gurov | Lady with a Lapdog | A. Chekhov | Steps Theater | 2010 |
| Herman Broder | Enemies, Love Story (English) | I. B. Singer | Steps Theater | 2009 |
| Herman Broder | Enemies, Love Story (Russian) | I. B. Singer | Steps Theater | 2008 |
Screenwriting & Film
In addition to his work in theater, Roman Freud has written scripts for both stage and screen in English and Russian since 2004. Two of his short film scripts were brought to the screen and recognized on the festival circuit.
Both films were nominated at the New York Independent Film Festival, affirming his voice as a storyteller who moves fluidly between mediums.
A Life in the Theatre
Plays in Development
Butterflies and Fish
A story about the renowned Russian artist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Mikhail Vrubel — his joy as a creator and his eternal battle with inner demons. The magical impact of an artist's creativity on surrounding reality.
Toybele
A touching, almost fairy-tale-like story of a small-town widow and a wedding jester who pretends to be a mythical demon and deceitfully enters the woman's bedroom. An adaptation of Isaac Bashevis Singer's famous story "Taibele and Her Demon."
Beneath the Ice of the Vistula
World premiere running now at The West End Theatre, NYC. A powerful drama set in Warsaw, 1939 — a Jewish composer and his Polish housekeeper confronting art, love, and survival on the brink of Nazi invasion.
Five Evenings
Theater
Roman Freud is the Artistic Director of Five Evenings Theater — the producing company behind his original works and Off-Broadway productions. For press inquiries, production information, or collaboration proposals, please reach out through the respective theater companies.
