“The Tallest Tree on Earth” by Ivan Vyrypaev

At first glance, *The Tallest Tree on Earth* begins with a conversation between two women—Dorothy and Sandy—about a man named Bonch who lost his son in a tragic accident. The child drowned in a river, and every Saturday, Bonch goes to the park to a tree, asking for forgiveness. What starts as a personal drama quickly unfolds into a painful and satirical examination of today’s world.

Vyrypaev’s play presents guilt—starting with Bonch’s personal burden, unraveling into cynical dialogues between Dorothy and Sandy, and ultimately reaching a collective guilt: that of humanity. In a world where prayers are not directed to God but to a tree, Vyrypaev poses the question of whether there is anyone left to forgive us. Who could forgive us for everything we’ve destroyed—in ourselves and in others?

The play mocks the false ethics of modern times—life-coach culture, technological optimism, social clichés, and pseudo-spirituality. The author reveals a crisis where human relationships have lost their value, and progress its direction.

The world trembles like jelly, the characters say. And beneath its surface, there is nothing left to save. The play is a cry for forgiveness—not from God, but from the Tree itself, which remembers.