Semoyan is unemployed and poor, he lives in the hall of a cramped apartment because his mother-inlaw has the bedroom, and he’s fed up.
When his last hope for self-respect disappears, Semoyan decides to take his own life. But word gets out and he finds himself besieged by sympathetic visitors – all begging him to kill himself on their behalf. Suddenly Semoyan is an important man!
However, as everyone gathers for a wild, vodka-fuelled celebration on the night of his intended demise, there’s one small problem: Semoyan is having second thoughts.
Nikolai Erdman’s celebrated comedy, critical of a totalitarian state where informing and corruption thrive, was banned by Stalin before it was even performed.
This is biting socio/political comedy in the best Russian tradition: Chekhov meets Gogol meets Dostoyevsky as satire spins off into farce then veers back into existential musings, and acclaimed UK playwright Moira Buffini has turned it into a vigorous, modern black comedy.
Director: Peter Talmacs Cast: Peter Adams, Tom Albert, Alastair Buchanan, Alan Faulkner, Jeannie Gee, Margarita Gershkovich, Victoria Greiner, Jodine Muir, Aaron Niland, Joel Spreadborough, Christopher Sellers, Johann Walraven Assistant Director: Frank McNamara Music Directors: Tom Albert & Thomas Talmacs Set Designer: Tom Bannerman Lighting Designer: Tony Youlden Costume Designer: Jennifer Post
Dying For It
New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown
Season: 19 November – 21 December 2013
Bookings: www.newtheatre.org.au
For more information, visit: www.newtheatre.org.au for details.
Image: Johann Walraven, Jodine Muir and Jeannie Gee – photo by Bob Seary
