SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
A wise fool in bleak times
MARY CONWAY feels the timeliness of Dostoevky’s strange tale of a nihilist who corrupts an imaginary paradise
PAUL FOLEY recommends an extraordinary double bill that packs a punch and leaves you reeling
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a play about AI that results in a deadening disconnect for its audience
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
MATTHEW HAWKINS pays tribute to the performance artist and costumier, Leigh Bowery
SIMON DUFF reviews a new composition by German composer and pianist Florian Weber that blurs the line between where improvisation ends and composition begins
New releases from The Jim Mullen Quartet, Caroline Kraabel/John Edwards, and Matthew Muneses/Riza Printup
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man
The Marylebone Theatre, London
LAURENCE BOSWELL’s stage adaptation of Dostoevsky’s short story couldn’t be more timely.
Set, not in its original 19th century Russia but in contemporary London, this new dramatisation testifies to the greatness of the source work, effortlessly crossing a divide of almost 150 years to capture at the deepest level our lives today.
In our time, we are reminded, hope for a brighter future defeats us, the planet is in freefall, mankind seems intent on self-destruction, governments behave with increasing contempt for the governed, depression and mental illness stalk our young and words of vitriol fill our airwaves. Indeed it’s hard to think of the universe as anything other than a speck of meaningless dust.
More from this author
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
A landmark work of gay ethnography, an avant-garde fusion of folk and modernity, and a chance comment in a great interview
ANGUS REID applauds the inventive stagecraft with which the Lyceum serve up Stevenson’s classic, but misses the deeper themes
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MATTHEW ALFORD questions the establishment-pleasing politics that underlie so-called ‘political satire’
PAUL DONOVAN admires a brave attempt to stage John Steinbeck’s epic tale of poverty-stricken 1930s America
Circulation manager BERNADETTE KEAVENEY reports back on the work of the readers and supporters’ groups holding events in their communities and the push for premium digital subscriptions for unions