Details

At the height of the Cold War, dissident writer Gavriil is detained in a Soviet mental prison as a punishment for protesting against the government. His only escape is the prison library, a treasure store of banned literature available to the patients, but off-limits to the prison staff. His interrogator, Yurchak, offers to protect him from torture in exchange for sharing the forbidden stories. Their agreement will help them both find a kind of freedom, at the risk of their lives. Inspired by an incident in the life of writer, activist and neurophysiologist Vladimir Bukovsky, Silent Planet is a love story about our love of stories, a passionate and poetic fable about the power of literature in a world in which the wrong words can get you killed. World Premiere. Performance Length: Approximately 70 minutes with no interval.

Cast/Performers

Graeme McKnight (Gavriil), Matthew Thomas (Yurchak), Kevin Hand (Doctor), Aaron Vodovoz (Guard)

Creatives/Company

Author: Eve Leigh
Presented by: Upstart (in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre)
Director: Tom Mansfield