No job, no money, no hope: unemployed and poverty-stricken Semyon has driven his long-suffering wife Masha to distraction and himself to the depths of despair. There’s only one thing left to do – end it all as quickly as possible! However, Semyon’s attempts to ensure a quick exit become increasingly problematic – when word gets out of his plan, he finds himself inundated with visitors begging him to die on their behalf.
CREATIVE TEAM
Director Adrian Osmond
Designer Helen Allingham
Assistant Designer Lynsey MacDonald
Lighting Designer Laura McNiven
Sound Designer Jennifer Walker
Choreographer
& Cultural Consultant Denis Boyarr
Production Manager Lynfryn Mackenzie
Stage Manager Jane Gordon
DSM Francesca Branch
ASM David MacMorris
ASM Barry McDonald
TSM Louise Marr
Semyon Ross Currie
Masha Natalie McConnon
Serafima Charlene Boyd
Alexander Jeremiah Reynolds
Margarita Melody Grove
Yegor Oliver Poole
Aristarkh Harry Gooding
Kleopatra Sharon Young
Yelpidy Darren Lightbody
Viktor Laurie Brown
Stepan Fraser Boyle
Oleg Sion Young
Violin Alex Smith
Accordion Megan Henderson
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
Erdman’s biting satire on the human condition was banned by Stalin before its first performance. The play may hit many profound targets, but it also contains all the elements for a top-notch farce, not least a sprawling house that enables numerous entrances and exits. And so, as with any farce, it’s essential to plan ahead and position all the doors and windows in precisely the right places.
The grandness of this residence must have impressed when it was first built; but now the poor have overrun it, and it’s littered with makeshift arrangements. In our production the stairs descended down under the stage, with ropes replacing broken bannisters; while precarious thin steps ascended up into the flies until they disappeared from view.
The key to staging this brilliant play, I think, is to ensure that, no matter how broad the caricatures become, a dark current of reality keeps flowing underneath. When Semyon puts a pistol to his temple, the audience needs to believe that he really may kill himself. After all, just when it seems like the story has reached a joyful conclusion, news of an actual suicide arrives…