Kategoria BISAC: Drama >> Russian & Former Soviet Union

A Platonic dialogue in the form of a double anachronism--the action takes place two centuries after our era--Joseph Brodsky's only play, Marbles, is set in a prison cell that alone provides for the three unities of classic drama: those of time, place, and action. A nightmare rather than a utopia, this play proceeds according to the immanent logic of mental aggravation as its two characters, the inmates Publius and Tullius, examine the tautology of their psychological, historical, and purely physical confines. The fusion of its dour, somewhat terrifying vision with the macabre...

This version of A Government Inspector is a Yorkshire take on Gogol's 1836 fantastical Russian satire. The setting is here transposed to a small northern town in the twenty-first century, geographically and culturally remote from the centre of government.

Into a small Pennine town a mysterious stranger is mistaken for a government inspector. Fearing discovery of their corrupt goings-on, the town's unscrupulous councillors attempt to ingratiate themselves. Bribes, backhanders and brown envelopes abound, and the young chap, who has an eye for a quick buck, takes full advantage...

A refreshingly intimate and modern spin on a Chekhovian classic.

"Devastatingly beautiful. . . . People are going to be talking about this one for years."?"The Village Voice"

One of the most-produced playwrights in the United States, Annie Baker lends her truthful observation and elegant command of the colloquial to Chekhov's despairing masterpiece. A critical hit in its sold-out Off-Broadway premiere, this contemporary telling is "the most intimate and engaging exploration of Chekhov's bleak comedy since Andre Gregory's "Vanya on 42nd Street"" (Bloomberg News).

Annie Baker's works...

A broad, panoramic view of Russian imperial society from the era of Peter the Great to the revolutions of 1917, Wirtschafter s study sets forth a challenging interpretation of one of the world s most powerful and enduring monarchies. A sophisticated synthesis that combines extensive reading of recent scholarship with archival research, it focuses on the interplay of Russia s key social groups with one another and the state. The result is a highly original history of Russian society that illuminates the relationships between state building, large-scale social structures, and everyday life....