From the Director

The novella Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District struck me from the first read as being almost perfectly formed for drama; Leskov’s pulpish obsession with sex and violence, structured through a simple and classic love triangle, foreshadows the noir world of James M. Cain.

To add to the appeal, as wallpaper to his fable, Leskov has included a complex combination of period atmospheric realism and romantic fantasy.

Reading it feels like Leskov's subconscious stumbled across a startling character, and followed her journey with interest, but never really understood her. There’s a deep mystery to the motivations of his complex heroine, which his terse story never unravels.

This production attempts to place the answer to this mystery between the lines of the highly charged sexual relationship between Katerina, and her lover Sergei.

By building the production around an aggressive mix of gilt and trash, we’ve tried to support Leskov’s sympathy for his troubled protagonists; with their feet in the mud and eyes in the stars.

Joseph Couch

From the Writer

Nikolai Leskov's novella Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District has been the basis of quite a number of adaptations - Shostakovich's opera, three movies, and this play is not the first dramatisation for the stage. So what's the attraction? The story of primal passion and bitter betrayal? The bafflingly contradictory and deadly heroine, who remains disturbingly committed to the object of her love as she kills to protect, kills to survive, kills out of loyalty, kills for revenge?

Pretty lurid stuff, all in primary colours, but it's the substance of Medea, The Changeling, Wuthering Heights, Bonnie and Clyde. And many more. You could well throw in The Iliad.

But do people really do things like that? Not long ago in Victoria, a female prison guard fell in love with an inmate, connived in the hijacking of a helicopter, the pilot of which flew it at gunpoint to land in a prison yard and whisk the lovers off to ... well, eternal bliss, I suppose. You'd have to say, not very rational lifestyle choices, but it was certainly a case of "all for love."

So is there a point to the story of Katerina's life and death? Well certainly a point to ponder. We admire commitment, but total commitment? If one person says to another "You are my life and all my world," could it be that they're in a dangerous state of
mind?

Robert Couch