'The Lower Depths'
11/08/07 18:05 Working as - Set &
Costume Design
@ The Finborough Theatre
THE LOWER DEPTHS
SCENES FROM RUSSIAN LIFE
by Maxim Gorky
The world premiere of a new version Written and Directed by Phil Willmott
Designed by Nicky Bunch.
Lighting by Hansjorg Schmidt .
Costume Design by Nell Knudsen.
Presented by The Steam Industry in association with the Finborough Theatre
Cast in order of appearance
Pavel, the actor - Richard Sandells
Katya, the prostitute - Victoria Gee
Satinin, the card player - Dean Kelly
Yegor, the furrier - Peter G Reed
Natasha, doss house skivvy - Louise Shuttleworth
Vassily, the thief - Charlie Watts
Borris, the baron - Andrew Colley
Tatiana, the widow - Ursula Mohan
Mikhail, the bereaved man - Scott MacBain
Abram, the policeman - James Folan
Olga, the landlady - Olivia Macdonald
Luka, the old traveller - Richard Gofton
15 May - 9 June 2007
Recent National Theatre and Almeida productions of Maxim Gorky’s plays have sparked a resurgence of interest in the playwright and social reformer.
The multi-award-winning Steam Industry now presents a rare opportunity to experience his undisputed masterpiece…
Set amongst the whores, alcoholics, cynics and dosshouse dreamers of a Russia on the brink of revolution, The Lower Depths is a harrowing, violent and uncompromising portrayal of the human sprit at its lowest ebb, with destitution and death an ever present spectre.
Can this gang of misfits and losers find any nobility in their hand to mouth struggle for survival?
With no easy answers, neat plot twists or satisfying resolution, this ruthless depiction of an underclass without hope shocked audiences in infamous Moscow, London and Berlin premieres.
Over a hundred years later, it still feels searingly relevant whenever poverty drives ordinary people to addiction and despair…
Director Phil Willmott makes his annual visit to the Finborough Theatre following his acclaimed productions of Loyalties and Trelawny of the Wells. In 2006, he was awarded a Peter Brook Empty Space award for his productions of Euripides, Brecht, Sophocles and Shaw at The Scoop open-air amphitheatre on the South Bank. Other recent productions include Billy Liar and Much Ado About Nothing at Liverpool Playhouse, A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Dubai, The London Nativity and the tenth anniversary year of Fame at the Aldwych Theatre
Maxim Gorky (1868-1936), Russian author and revolutionary. The Lower Depths (1902) was first produced by Konstantin Stanislavski at the Moscow Art Theatre and became one of that companys best known productions. It has also been filmed by Jean Renoir and Akira Kurosawa, but has been unseen in a professional London production since the Royal Shakespeare Company’s in 1972. Gorkys other plays include Summer Folk, Philistines, Barbarians, Enemies and Vassa Zheleznova - as well as his autobiographical trilogy - My Childhood, In the World, and My Universities.
The Press on The Lower Depths
Top theatre
Phil Willmott stages a new version of Gorkys great play about down-and-outs in early 20th-century Russia.”
Benedict Nightingale, The Times
If you want to brush up on your Gorky, now is the time. Londons little Finborough Theatre has just launched a staging of The Lower Depths and now [the National Theatre] tackles Philistines”
Sarah Hemming, Financial Times
A spirited and compelling piece of theatre.” Natasha Tripney, The Stage
This is a serious, stimulating and timely revival.” Paul Taylor, The Independent
An accomplished, intelligent staging that gives Gorky’s socialist realism a highly effective 21st-century spin.” Sam Marlowe, The Times
SCENES FROM RUSSIAN LIFE
by Maxim Gorky
The world premiere of a new version Written and Directed by Phil Willmott
Designed by Nicky Bunch.
Lighting by Hansjorg Schmidt .
Costume Design by Nell Knudsen.
Presented by The Steam Industry in association with the Finborough Theatre
Cast in order of appearance
Pavel, the actor - Richard Sandells
Katya, the prostitute - Victoria Gee
Satinin, the card player - Dean Kelly
Yegor, the furrier - Peter G Reed
Natasha, doss house skivvy - Louise Shuttleworth
Vassily, the thief - Charlie Watts
Borris, the baron - Andrew Colley
Tatiana, the widow - Ursula Mohan
Mikhail, the bereaved man - Scott MacBain
Abram, the policeman - James Folan
Olga, the landlady - Olivia Macdonald
Luka, the old traveller - Richard Gofton
15 May - 9 June 2007
Recent National Theatre and Almeida productions of Maxim Gorky’s plays have sparked a resurgence of interest in the playwright and social reformer.
The multi-award-winning Steam Industry now presents a rare opportunity to experience his undisputed masterpiece…
Set amongst the whores, alcoholics, cynics and dosshouse dreamers of a Russia on the brink of revolution, The Lower Depths is a harrowing, violent and uncompromising portrayal of the human sprit at its lowest ebb, with destitution and death an ever present spectre.
Can this gang of misfits and losers find any nobility in their hand to mouth struggle for survival?
With no easy answers, neat plot twists or satisfying resolution, this ruthless depiction of an underclass without hope shocked audiences in infamous Moscow, London and Berlin premieres.
Over a hundred years later, it still feels searingly relevant whenever poverty drives ordinary people to addiction and despair…
Director Phil Willmott makes his annual visit to the Finborough Theatre following his acclaimed productions of Loyalties and Trelawny of the Wells. In 2006, he was awarded a Peter Brook Empty Space award for his productions of Euripides, Brecht, Sophocles and Shaw at The Scoop open-air amphitheatre on the South Bank. Other recent productions include Billy Liar and Much Ado About Nothing at Liverpool Playhouse, A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Dubai, The London Nativity and the tenth anniversary year of Fame at the Aldwych Theatre
Maxim Gorky (1868-1936), Russian author and revolutionary. The Lower Depths (1902) was first produced by Konstantin Stanislavski at the Moscow Art Theatre and became one of that companys best known productions. It has also been filmed by Jean Renoir and Akira Kurosawa, but has been unseen in a professional London production since the Royal Shakespeare Company’s in 1972. Gorkys other plays include Summer Folk, Philistines, Barbarians, Enemies and Vassa Zheleznova - as well as his autobiographical trilogy - My Childhood, In the World, and My Universities.
The Press on The Lower Depths
Top theatre
Phil Willmott stages a new version of Gorkys great play about down-and-outs in early 20th-century Russia.”
Benedict Nightingale, The Times
If you want to brush up on your Gorky, now is the time. Londons little Finborough Theatre has just launched a staging of The Lower Depths and now [the National Theatre] tackles Philistines”
Sarah Hemming, Financial Times
A spirited and compelling piece of theatre.” Natasha Tripney, The Stage
This is a serious, stimulating and timely revival.” Paul Taylor, The Independent
An accomplished, intelligent staging that gives Gorky’s socialist realism a highly effective 21st-century spin.” Sam Marlowe, The Times