Dialog Festival
The Russians!
text: Tom Lanoye after Anton Chekhov dramaturgy: Peter van Kraaij, set and lighting design: Jan Versweyveld, costume design: An d’Huys, video: Tal Yarden, composer: Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL), premiere: June 2011
cast: Jacob Derwig, Halina Reijn, Fedja van Huêt, Janni Goslinga, Barry Atsma, Hugo Koolschijn, Frieda Pittoors, Hélène Devos, Chris Nietvelt, Roeland Fernhout, Karina Smulders, Fred Goessens, Gijs Scholten van Aschat, Marwan Chico Kenzari, Marieke Heebink, Leon Voorberg, Alwin Pulinckx, Hans Kesting
“The Russians! is the most powerful political theatre in years. It is Russian, English and Greek. A combination of Chekhov, Shakespeare and Aeschylus. Generously sprinkled with the content of Dionysus’s jug. In short: it’s a Greek tragedy with a Roman kick.”
Guido Lauwaert, Knack
The Russians! is Tom Lanoye’s radical adaptation of two famous plays by Anton Chekhov: Ivanov and Platonov. Ivo van Hove’s production is one in which the characters do not control violent emotions, look for scapegoats around them and give vent to their frustration with the world, their feeling of emptiness and loss. The Russians! is a theatrical marathon, a dark portrayal of humanity that constantly wages a war against itself.
Ivanov feels trapped in a marriage with a seriously ill Jewish woman. Trying to fight off his lingering depression, he starts an affair with the young Sasha, daughter of his friends. This only compounds the feeling of the uselessness of his existence. Platonov, a village teacher, is married and has a small child, but this does not stop him from courting other women. Collecting impressions and experiences, he quickly loses the trust of his friends. Platonov and Ivanov – one trapped in past choices, the other unable to shape his own future – are dissatisfied with their lives and with society at large. Will the stage meeting of Chekhov’s protagonists arranged by Ivo van Hove solve their problems?
Toneelgroep Amsterdam is one of the most important Dutch theatre companies. As the largest repertory theatre in the country, it occupies a very important place in Dutch culture, especially given the fact that for years it has been focused largely on international projects. Every season the company premieres, on average, five new productions and gives a total of about 300 performances, seen every year by over one hundred thousand people. The directors working with Toneelgroep include Robert Woodruff (USA), Krzysztof Warlikowski (Poland), Johan Simos (the Netherlands), Grzegorz Jarzyna (Poland) and Thomas Ostermeier (Germany). The company regularly tours Germany, France, Austria and Belgium, and takes part in the most important European festivals (winning awards for such productions as Shakespeare’s Roman Tragedies and The Taming of the Shrew, Kushner’s Angels in America, and Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage).
Producer: Toneelgroep Amsterdam, Coproduction: Holland Festival / Dialog-Wrocław International Theatre Festival