Details

This disturbing but fascinating play portrays an asylum's occupants reaching out to us - crossing the fine line separating the 'insane' from those deemed 'sane' - as characters from Chekhov's major plays (including The Seagull, Three Sisters and Uncle Vanya). This adaptation is a composite of Chekhov's story Ward No. 6, and excerpts from elsewhere in Russian literature. Meanwhile, the benign Doctor Ragin tries to help his patients - but will he too be crushed by institutional power? Listen out for the soliloquies (spoken by Anton) that feature witty extracts from absurdist writer Daniil Kharms. (In 1941, Kharms was committed to a psychiatric 'hospital', where he died as a result of maltreatment.) Similarly, these lost souls seem condemned to living death... but as Anton tells us: "The dead are a category to be reckoned with".

Creatives/Company

Author: Anton Chekhov
Company: Theatre Collection
Director: Victor Sobchak