The scarce lighting makes it difficult sometimes to understand what is going on the stage, but at the same time it compliments the gloomy atmosphere of the play. The room becomes even smaller in the dark, there is no sign of the outside world and in this claustrophobic environment one does not understand what are they looking at: a family drama or an endless conversation of different personalities in one’s mind? The similarities in actors’ facial features and situations, when one actor performs several roles, intensifies the impression.

Ian MacNaughton (as Fyodor Karamazov), Tom Craig and Porl Matthews / Courtesy of Theatre Collection

Hidden in the heart of Camden, Theatre Collection is an active participant of London fringe theatre scene with over 100 productions in 15 years. Staging classical works and new writing, this February the theatre presents a new adaptation of Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, directed by Victor Sobchak, the founder of the theatre. 

The theatre is located above the Lord Stanley pub that creates a perfectly suitable atmosphere for Dostoevsky’s work. Leaving the bright and joyful pub and going up a narrow staircase, the audience finds itself in an intimate room, where the distance between them and the actors does not exist, bringing Dostoevsky’s philosophical debates and dramas directly to the viewers. Black walls, tightly closed windows and the set, comprised only of several chairs and a div, suggest that the decoration is not at all important here. Nothing should distract from the great power of Dostoevsky’s writing.

T-Ann Manora and Shaban Arifi / Courtesy of Theatre Collection

The cast overall is quite young and energetic, presenting a solid performance and vividly transmitting Dostoevsky’s interest in human’s strive to answer eternal questions, forgetting about the real life around them. Bewildered by their desires, they lie, plot and even kill. The danger of a blind passion is brilliantly performed by Shaban Arifi (as Dmitry Karamazov) and T-Ann Manora (as Grusha). Going from serenity to almost hysteria, the actors express this constant urge of their characters to do something, to live this life to its limits. The love scene, where the actors precisely captured this burden of free will and failed desire to break through the ordinary life, is especially thrilling.

Another amazing duet in this performance is Tom Craig (as Ivan Karamazov) and Porl Matthews (as Smerdyakov). Their acting supports the idea of being inside one’s mind, creating an illusion of a passionate inner dialog: the faith and the doubt; the good and the evil. Exceptional performance of both actors makes the audience sincerely believe in the inner trauma of their characters.

It is a difficult task to stage The Brothers Karamazov with all details of the story. In this case the director stops the narrative in the end of the trial over Dmitry Karamazov, not going into details of what happened afterwards. Similar to Dostoevsky’s work, the play leaves the audience on its own in the search for answers. Come and see this show if you are ready to hear these questions.

The Brothers Karamazov at Lord Stanley Pub runs till 1 March. Please click here for more information.

The review was originally published on Russian Art and Culture.