*** Crime and Punishment[a] is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866.[1] It was later published in a single volume. It is the second of Dostoevsky’s full-length novels following his return from ten years of exile in Siberia. Crime and Punishment is considered the first great novel of his mature period of writing[2] and is often cited as one of the greatest works of world literature.[3][4][5][6]
Crime and Punishment follows the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished former law student in Saint Petersburg who plans to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker, an old woman who stores money and valuable objects in her flat. He theorises that with the money he could liberate himself from poverty and go on to perform great deeds, and seeks to convince himself that certain crimes are justifiable if they are committed in order to remove obstacles to the higher goals of “extraordinary” men. Once the deed is done, however, he finds himself wracked with confusion, paranoia, and disgust. His theoretical justifications lose all their power as he struggles with guilt and horror and is confronted with both internal and external consequences of his deed.
Now that you have read this intro ( from Wikipedia) I can tell you about a new play “In Pursuit Of” written by Zoe Soteres, that is being performed by the Subrosa Theatre Collective at The Greenhouse Theater Center. This particular play, directed by Nole Beran, is loosely based on “Crime & Punishment ( at least the concept), but is a little bit harder to follow. In this play, our hero Theo ( a strong performance by Kieran Rowe) takes on the problems of Rodion. He has always been told that he is extraordinary and is the one who will bring the family to glory. He is a college student, working in a mediocre job to pay his bills.
Theo has a boss, who is quite young and quite ruthless. Alex (deftly handled by Alex Perez) is having a “thing” with another worker, June (Chloe Rodriques) and is constantly playing his wealth and power over Theo. When Theo meets with his college counselor, Tim ( played to perfection by Dan Walsh) he is told that to get the things in life that he wants, he must get a promotion and show the admissions staff that he is strong. It is then that he plans his way to move into a power position, hurting others along the way. He also meets Shannon ( Madeline Meyer) in the college, learns more about her and her life and gets involved with her on a basis that is more brother-sister than romantic.
The story is fairly simple, but to be honest, it took 2 1/2 hours ( one 10 minute intermission) to lay it all out and the number os set changes was probably the most ever in this venue. The entire cast was used to change from a studio apartment to a park, to an office, to a park, to a bedroom, to an office and on and on. Nora Brooks Slauter’s design of the set was quite realistic, but did they have to go back and forth as often as they did? Could this have been simplified to shave sitting time off without hurting the story-line? I, for one, think, yes!
The other characters in the play were Mia Kendall ,Grayson Kamel and Elizabeth Dowling.Theo is far from home and has a sister with child ( the baby is born during the play, although we can’t be sure of the timing in the story as Theo always wears the same clothes that he takes out of his hamper, smells and puts on. I think a little music during the changes might help, and more costume changes might allow for us to see some element of time passing. Like the original story, Theo is caught between a rock and a hard place but at the end of the story, it appears that he has found the answer.
NOTE: This production contains references to/and/or depictions of sexual assault, rape, rape kinks, con/non-con play, sex work, vomiting and suicide.
The Greenhouse Theater Center is located at 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue
“In Pursuit Of ” will continue thru March 15th with performances as follows:
Wednesday 7:30 p.m.
Thursday 7:30 p.m.
Friday 7:30 p.m.
Saturday 7:30 p.m.
Sunday 2:30 p.m.
Greenhouse box office 773-404-7336
For more info about this company, www.subrosatheatrecollective.org
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “In Pursuit Of”.
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