Moscow production of BerlusPutin imagines half of the former Italian prime minister's brain being transplanted into the newly re-elected Russian president's head

What do you get if you cross Silvio Berlusconi with Vladimir Putin? It sounds like a joke, but it's actually the premise of a Moscow theatre's latest production, which offers a rare, satirical sideswipe at the newly re-elected Russian president.

BerlusPutin, which is based on Dario Fo's play L'Anomalo Bicefalo (The Two-Headed Anomaly), imagines the outcome of half of the former Italian prime minister's brain being transplanted into Putin's head, following the former's death from a heart attack.

The play shows Putin, who claimed victory in this weekend's Russian presidential elections, bare-chested and fondling the bottom of Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, with whom he is rumoured to have had an affair. Elsewhere, Putin is seen overdosing on Botox and, finally, morphing into Dobby the house elf from JK Rowling's Harry Potter novels.

Since opening at the Teatr.doc in Moscow last month, performances of BerlusPutin have sold out until April. Opposition to Putin is at its strongest in the Russian capital, with reports claiming that only 47% of the city's vote went his way this weekend, compared to 64% overall.

"We're not drawing his psychological profile," Serguei Epishev, the actor playing Putin, told France 24. "Our play is telling a story based on his public declarations, news and rumours."

Director Varvara Faer echoed that, adding, "The main idea was to show our political position after 20 years of silence and passivity. People who come here are generally fed up with the way the government has been humiliating them."

The production also incorporates accusations of corruption amongst Putin's team, which have only increased since this weekend's elections.

Fo's original, which sees Putin's brain transplanted into Berlusconi's head, was itself the subject of controversy following its 2003 premiere in Italy. The playwright was sued for defamation to the tune of €1m by a member of Berlusconi's party, Marcello Dell'Utri.