The Playground Theatre Presents
The Dream of A Ridiculous Man
30 OCT - 9 NOV
7.30PM | 3PM | 4PM
By F. Dostoevsky
Adapted and Directed by Saulius Varnas | With Peter Tate
Video editing and mapping by Helena Hipólito | Stage manager May Bucilliat
Countries Represented: England, Lithuania, Russia, Portugal, Greece & France
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man is a new adaptation by the award-winning Lithuanian director Saulius Varnas of one of F. Dostoevsky's most relevant short tales. This production delves into the dual worlds inhabited by our protagonist: the stark realities of life and the idealised utopia he glimpses in his dreams.
A Ridiculous Man, who tries to kill himself, falls asleep and dreams of a utopian Earth. On a distant planet, identical to Earth, the Children of the Sun coexist in harmony and naive happiness until he arrives and corrupts them with science and jealousy.
Blending reality and dreams with the use of multimedia, including paintings like M.K. Čiurlionis's The Road of Angels, the play creates a visual and emotional tapestry. It resonates with humanity's eternal quest for a perfect society, reflecting our innate longing for a lost paradise.
Countries Represented: England, Lithuania, Russia, Portugal, Greece & France
BOOKING INFORMATION
Thurs 30 OCT | 7.30 PM (preview)
Fri 31 OCT & Sat 1 NOV | 7.30 PM
Matinees: Sat 2 Nov | 3 PM & Sun 3 Nov | 4 PM
VOILÀ! FESTIVAL DATES
Tue - Sat | 5 - 9 Nov | 7.30 PM
Matinee: Sat 9 NOV | 3 PM
Duration: 70 min
Interval: n/a
Content Warnings: References to suicide
Recommended for 14+
Tickets (All unreserved)
Preview £14
General Admission £18
Senior 60+ | Unemployed | Under 30 | Student £14
Access for All £14
Note: Please contact boxoffice@theplaygroundtheatre.org.uk for your complementary ticket for a carer/companion/friend
Note this event has one week as part of the Voilà! Theatre Festival
VOILÀ! Tickets:
General Admission £16
Senior 60+ | Unemployed | Under 30 | Student | Access for All £12.50
CAST | CREATIVES | PRODUCTION TEAM
SAULIUS VARNAS | Lithuanian Director
Directing Credits
Laureate of National Theatre Award in Belarus as a best Theatre director 2014.
The performances
I. Bergman, Strawberry Meadow | J. Bairon, Cain | M. Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita | V.Majakowsky The Bug | M. Gorky, The Sun Children | F. Dostoevsky, The Idiot | S.Witkewicz At a Small Estate | S.Mrozek A Portrait | F. Kafka, The Trial | M. Koltès, Return to the Desert | A. Strindberg, The Dream Play | H. Ibsen, The Lady from the Sea | E. Schwarz, The Shadow | E. Ionesco, The Thirst and the Hunger | L. Tolstoy, The Kreutzer Sonata | H. Ibsen, When We Dead Awaken | V. Nabokov, Falling into Darkness | N. Gogol, Marriage |Dostoevsky, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man
For many of these performances Saulius have been decorated with diplomas and awards for directing, acting, stage design, music in different international and Lithuanian theatre festivals.
He took a part in theatre festivals in Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Ukraine, Turkish, Latvia, Belarus, India, Macedonia, Albania, Israel etc.
PETER TATE as The Ridiculous Man
British actor Peter Tate was trained at Weber Douglas in London, and with Stella Adler in New York, where he began his career. Credits there included The Bacchae on Broadway directed by Michael Cacoyannis and Richard III with The American Shakespeare Company.
Returning to London he played a leading role opposite Alan Bates in Yonadab by Peter Shaffer, directed by Peter Hall at The National Theatre. He was Invited by the Actor's Studio NYC to play the co-lead, Prince Felix Yusopov, opposite Peter Stomare, then Bergman's leading actor, in Rasputnin.
More recent highlights include playing Macbeth in Poland with the acclaimed Polish director Henry Baronowski, Tabloid Caligula at the Arcola and 59E59th st, American Justice at The Arts (West End) and Babylone at The Belgrade Coventry.
At The Playground Theatre he recently played Shylock in A Merchant of Venice directed by Bill Alexander, Paradise Circus by James Purdy and directed by Anthony Biggs and the opening production Picasso by Terry D'Alfonso and directed by Michael Hunt. Picasso was adtapet into solo performance and presented under the name Picasso: Le Monstre Sacre at the Playground Theatre in 2023 and run the all season at Ed Festival 2023. His own play One Man premiered last spring as part of the Love and Destruction evening and has just recently competed filming.
Tate has won numerous awards for his stage version of Odd Man Out in Jerusalem, St Petersburg and Wroclaw to name a few. The Film adaptation of Odd Man Out has garnered Tate numerous best actor awards at International film festivals.
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