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The Suicide is a 1928 play by the Russian playwright Nikolai Erdman. Its performance was proscribed during the Stalinist era and it was only produced in Russia several years after the death of its writer. Today[when?] it is regarded as one of the finest plays to have come out of Communist Russia.[according to whom?]
A young, unemployed man, Semyon, believes the answer to his problems is to learn to play the tuba. However, his plan fails and he contemplates suicide. His neighbour, Alexander Petrovich, decides to make money from Semyon's misery by exploiting his intended suicide to several bidders. These bidders planned to exploit Semyon's death to the furtherance of their own individual causes. The Intelligentsia, represented by Aristarkh, is the first to approach him. From this point on, Semyon finds himself being manipulated by various people representing the business world, the arts, the workers, romance, etc. During the course of the play, each character reveals the worst side of their personality, to humorous effect.
Productionsedit
The Suicide was first translated into English by Peter Tegel and premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company at The Other Place, Stratford, on 13 June 1979. The production was directed by Ron Daniels, and the lead role of Semyon Semyonovitch was played by Roger Rees.[1]
It was first put on Broadway on 9 October 1980 at the ANTA Playhouse (now called the August Wilson Theatre) and closed on 30 November 1980 after 60 performances. It was directed by Jonas Jurasas, movement by Ara Fitzgerald, scene and costume by Santo Loquasto, lighting design by F. Mitchell Dana, sound design by Jack Shearing, and costume and hair design by J. Roy Helland. The cast featured Derek Jacobi, Grayson Hall, John Heffernan, Angela Pietropinto, Susan Edwards, Laura Esterman, Clarence Felder, Cheryl Giannini, Carol Mayo Jenkins, David Patrick Kelly, Derek Meader, William Myers, Mary Lou Rosato, David Sabin, Leda Siskind, Chip Zien, and Jeff Zinn.[2]
An adaptation called The Grand Gesture by Deborah McAndrew had a three-month national tour beginning on 6 September 2013 in Harrogate.[4]
An adaptation called Guns, Lies and Roses (枪，谎言和玫瑰) directed by Meng Jinghui premiered in 2012 at the Beijing Beehive Theatre.[5]
A version was staged at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2015, which used the historic 1930 dress rehearsal of the play in front of the censorship board of the Central Committee of the Communist Party as a framing device, adapted and directed by Ben Naylor.[6]
Suhayla El-Bushra adapted the play for the modern day, bringing it into an urban British setting. Directed by Nadia Fall, this adaptation was performed at the National Theatre in London in 2016.[7]
Referencesedit
^"RSC Performances - The Suicide". Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
^"The Suicide | National Theatre". www.nationaltheatre.org.uk.
January 01, 1970
suicide, play, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, relies, largely, entirely, single, source, relevant, discussion, found, talk, page, please. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources The Suicide play news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2011 This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed August 2009 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message The Suicide is a 1928 play by the Russian playwright Nikolai Erdman Its performance was proscribed during the Stalinist era and it was only produced in Russia several years after the death of its writer Today when it is regarded as one of the finest plays to have come out of Communist Russia according to whom The SuicideWritten byNikolai ErdmanDate premiered1979Place premieredThe Other PlaceOriginal languageRussianGenreComedyPlot editA young unemployed man Semyon believes the answer to his problems is to learn to play the tuba However his plan fails and he contemplates suicide His neighbour Alexander Petrovich decides to make money from Semyon s misery by exploiting his intended suicide to several bidders These bidders planned to exploit Semyon s death to the furtherance of their own individual causes The Intelligentsia represented by Aristarkh is the first to approach him From this point on Semyon finds himself being manipulated by various people representing the business world the arts the workers romance etc During the course of the play each character reveals the worst side of their personality to humorous effect Productions editThe Suicide was first translated into English by Peter Tegel and premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company at The Other Place Stratford on 13 June 1979 The production was directed by Ron Daniels and the lead role of Semyon Semyonovitch was played by Roger Rees 1 It was first put on Broadway on 9 October 1980 at the ANTA Playhouse now called the August Wilson Theatre and closed on 30 November 1980 after 60 performances It was directed by Jonas Jurasas movement by Ara Fitzgerald scene and costume by Santo Loquasto lighting design by F Mitchell Dana sound design by Jack Shearing and costume and hair design by J Roy Helland The cast featured Derek Jacobi Grayson Hall John Heffernan Angela Pietropinto Susan Edwards Laura Esterman Clarence Felder Cheryl Giannini Carol Mayo Jenkins David Patrick Kelly Derek Meader William Myers Mary Lou Rosato David Sabin Leda Siskind Chip Zien and Jeff Zinn 2 A free adaptation called Dying For It by Moira Buffini was first performed in the Almeida Theatre London in 2007 3 An adaptation called The Grand Gesture by Deborah McAndrew had a three month national tour beginning on 6 September 2013 in Harrogate 4 An adaptation called Guns Lies and Roses 枪 谎言和玫瑰 directed by Meng Jinghui premiered in 2012 at the Beijing Beehive Theatre 5 A version was staged at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2015 which used the historic 1930 dress rehearsal of the play in front of the censorship board of the Central Committee of the Communist Party as a framing device adapted and directed by Ben Naylor 6 Suhayla El Bushra adapted the play for the modern day bringing it into an urban British setting Directed by Nadia Fall this adaptation was performed at the National Theatre in London in 2016 7 References edit RSC Performances The Suicide Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Retrieved 4 December 2022 The Suicide IBDB Benedict David 21 March 2007 Dying for It review Variety The Grand Gesture Script Guns Lies amp Roses zh The Suicide March 19 2016 The Suicide National Theatre www nationaltheatre org uk Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Suicide play amp oldid 1165997892, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
