Screening: Sergey Zhenovach’s adaptation of Nikolai Erdman’s ‘Suicide’

Screening: Sergey Zhenovach’s adaptation of Nikolai Erdman’s ‘Suicide’

Stage Russia HD (Theatre Art Studio): Sergey Zhenovach’s adaptation of Nikolai Erdman’s comedy centers around a young, unemployed man desperate enough to contemplate ending it all. As soon as he declares his will to die he finds
himself surrounded by a variety of characters begging him to kill himself as a gesture for their cause. Flattered by this notoriety but panicked at the prospect of actually having to go through with it, he must find a way out that somehow leaves his dignity intact. Designer Alexander Borovsky’s walled-up stage with two stories of raggedy doors allows for slapstick chases and gives Zhenovach the opportunity to play entire scenes offstage, freeing it of realistic details and keeping the focus on the characters and their predicaments. Once the production builds up a head of steam, the laughs come fast and furious. The play, originally written in 1928, forms a link in Russian literary history between the satirical mastery of Nikolai Gogol and the post-World War II Theatre of the Absurd.

180 minutes (with one 15 minute intermission included)
In Russian with English subtitles