The premiere of a brand-new adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s timeless story, Crime and Punishment, written by Irish poet and playwright Phillip Mc Donagh and directed by Luke Morgan, will be staged in Clifden’s Station House Theatre this Friday night before taking to the stage in Druid’s Mick Lally Theatre next week.
It’s set in St Petersburg, Russia, in 1865 where a young man commits a violent, cold-blooded murder. He considers himself a Napoleon, acting for a higher purpose. But as he’s gradually confronted with the seriousness of his crime, only the downtrodden prostitute, Sonja, can offer him a chance at redemption.
Dostoyevsky, a novelist, playwright, short-story writer and essayist, is regarded by literary critics as one of the greatest psychologists in world literature and Crime and Punishment is one of his finest works.
This new adaptation is by poet and diplomat Philip McDonagh, who has served as Ireland’s Ambassador to India, The Holy See, Finland, Russia and the Vienna-based Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. His four collections of poetry include The Oriole Sang, published by Dedalus Press in 2010.
Galway publishers, Arlen House, published his translation of Nikolai Gumilyov’s verse drama Gondla in 2016.
The production is directed by Ivan Morgan, the founder of the Theatre Room, which is a monthly showcase for one-act plays, and the film-makers’ collective Project Spatula. He has previously directed works including include Philip’s adaptation of Gondla.
Crime and Punishment is at the Station House this Friday night with tickets costing €13. It will run from October 23 to October 28 at 8pm nightly in the Mick Lally Theatre, Druid. The tickets there are priced €18, €15 concession and €12 per person for groups of 10 or more. They can be purchased at morgancreative.org/theatre.
