Notes From Underground

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Adapted for the stage by Buzz Goodbody

Directed by Christopher Haydon

13th November - 18th November 2006 Arcola Theatre Studio 2

This is the dark tale of how one man destroys everything around him. His relentless attempts to give his life meaning drive him into the arms of a young prostitute. Confronted by the only person who might offer him any hope, he does the only thing he is capable of - he tears the relationship apart.

Based on Dostoyevsky’s classic novel, considered to be the world’s first existentialist work, and a major influence on many artists and writers subsequently, this extraordinary adaptation exploring the nature of suffering is both frightening and caustically funny.

Initially produced by Buzz Goodbody - the first woman ever to direct at the RSC - in 1967, this compelling new production resurrects this classic piece of theatre and brings it to the stage of the Arcola. 

Reviews

"Director Christopher Haydon has presented a neatly contained vignette that is somehow much more than the sum of its parts." **** Time Out

"Superbly Acted by Cressida Trew" British Theatre Guide

"Starkey's commendably glinting eyes, almost demonic focus... Go and weep."  Fiona Mountford, Evening Standard

"Haydon's production... is a triumph." British Theatre Guide

"Starkey shows us a man being crippled by his existential rage. He makes us laugh, too." **** Time Out

"A play that has as much of an impact today as the original novel did when it was published in 1864"
The London Paper