PORTSMOUTH – The extraordinary love story of Fyodor Dostoevsky and the woman who became “the architect of his life,” will be on stage at the Players’ Ring Theatre from Jan. 3 through Jan. 19, written and directed by Richard McElvain.
When his unscrupulous publisher had a gun to his head to complete a book in a month, Fyodor Dostoevsky reached out to a school that taught a new science called stenography. The woman he hired, Anna, would soon become his indispensable collaborator, his lover, his wife and eventually his publisher.
Together they survived his bouts with epilepsy, gambling addiction, dreadful debt, and the death of two children. Throughout it all, they remained hopelessly in love as Dostoevsky climbed to become one of the greatest novelists of all time.
McElvain was in Saint Petersburg performing his one-person-play “The Chess Player,” at The Bolshoi Drama Theatre, a high point in his theatre career. One day after the show was up, and he had some time, he visited Dostoevsky’s home with his partner Lynda Robinson.
“His place has been turned into a museum, and I am a fan of his works,” McElvain said. “It was a thrill walking up the stairs he walked up every day and seeing the desk where he worked. There were cards you could read in each room and in the dining room the card read ‘In this room Dostoevsky dictated his novels to his second wife Anna’”.
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McElvain said he “was shocked.”
“I never knew he dictated his works,” he recounted. “I later found out that he was an amateur actor. He would do spellbinding readings of his works and Tolstoy’s. So, I suddenly got this image of him ‘acting out’ his work as Anna took it down. With a little more research, I found that she became his collaborator in the process – and that they were hopelessly in love. So, it was easy to imagine this as a crackling two hander play.”
McElvain said everyone loves a good love story.
“Isn’t it a little astonishing that the story of Fyodor and Anna is one of the great love stories?” he asked. “The appeal to fans of his work is obvious. If you don’t know his work it is a very audience friendly journey into the life of one of the greatest writers who ever put pen to page.
McElvain said the story is action packed and often very funny. The couple fought great battles with his epilepsy, gambling addiction, bullying publishers and crushing debt. She enters his life as his scribe and the audience has his brilliant works today because of Anna and their indefatigable love.
The style of the production is very theatrical, often daffy, lots of delightfully shocking devices. Jocelyn Duford and Tomer Oz are the two superb actors who took on the challenge of playing about 20 roles, including allegorical characters like his Epilepsy and his Gambling Addiction. Expect fabulous masks and costumes, puppets and a dramatic soundscape that underscores the whole show.
Set, lighting, and projections are designed by Billie Butler; costume design by Jennifer Greeke;
sound design by Larry Buckley and Noah Kammer; prop design by Annie Stone; and dance
choreography by Leslie Gallagher and Adele Jones. The production’s stage manager is Emily Andrews. This is a Players’ Ring Production in collaboration with Theatre Omnibus.
“The Players’ Ring feels like a good place to give my wacky play a first full production. Whenever I read the play with my partner, it overwhelms us emotionally. It’s a ‘big play’. At the readings audiences gave it standing ovations with tears in their eyes. I’m very curious to see if that will be the case with a full production,” McElvain said.
McElvain has been working professionally as an actor, director, playwright and teacher for 45 years, mostly in the Boston area. He has won the Elliot Norton Award and the IRNE award for his performance in “Saint Nicholas,” a monodrama by Conor McPherson. For the last several years he has been touring “The Chess Player” internationally, mostly in Europe and the Middle East.
“Whispering to Dostoevsky” – written and directed by Richard McElvain will be shown at the Players’ Ring Theatre, 105 Marcy St., Portsmouth, Jan. 3-19: Thursdays at 7 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. General Admission: $29; Students / Seniors (65+): $26; Military / First Responders: $26. This show is included in our subscription packages. Information on how to purchase and redeem these can be found at www.playersring.org.
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