Little Tragedies
by Alexander Pushkin
directed by Victor Sobchak and Andy
McQuade
This classic by the 19th century poet and playwright actually consists of four short plays. Taut, pithy, but nonetheless shocking and powerful and shot through with an urbane, grim humour, these little gems create a macabre world of abnormal passions and gruesome retribution. The Miserly Knight tells the tale of an obsessively greedy old man who gets his come-uppance; Mozart and Salieri explores the popular legend, later also immortalised in Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus, that the composer Salieri poisoned his more brilliant musical rival; Don Juan shows the demise of the cocky, callous, bloodthirsty playboy when his arrogance takes him one step too far; while A Feast During The Plague, here used as a framing device, does exactly what it says on the box – depicts a group of spoiled socialites who continue their hedonistic lifestyle amidst national disaster.
The Little Tragedies is not performed in the west as often as it should be, and this production amply captures the dark, off-kilter atmosphere of the texts. Nika Khitrova’s inspired set design utterly transforms the space into a Gothic satin- and candle-drenched salon and draws the audience deep into Pushkin’s decadent world.
The cast work as a tight-knit ensemble and include many superb performances: Scott Christie’s deliciously exaggerated miser and Nicholas Cass-Beggs’s creepy money-lender are larger-than-life caricatures, but perfectly rendered and hugely entertaining, while Geir Kjelland’s tortured, inhibited Salieri is beautifully and movingly played in a quieter, more naturalistic vein. The approach of the production as a whole is vibrant and physical.
This is one of the best pieces of Act Provocateur’s recent work and it is well worth seeing this bracingly acted all-too-rare outing of these miniature masterpieces.