Stage adaptation and direction Sergey Zhenovach
Set design Alexander Borovsky
Lighting design Damir Ismagilov
Composer Grigory Gobernik

The plot of “The Suicide” centres around a young, unemployed man Semyon, desperate enough to contemplate ending it all. As soon as he declares his will to die he finds himself surrounded by different characters begging him to kill himself as a gesture for their cause. The Intelligentsia, represented by Aristarch, persuades him to die “on behalf of all Russian thinking men” by blaming the government. Father Yelpidy insists that he kills himself “to turn the wayward millions back to God”. Other beggers represent the business world, the arts, the workers, romance, etc, since just the prospect of death can give an individual the freedom to act and speak as he wishes. The life of a commoner turns into a tragicomedy.

The first night 2015, March, 1

Running time 195 min with intermission