Elizaveta Bam

by Daniil Kharms

Directed and written by Fedor Pavlov–Andreevich

7 – 8 February, 20:00
9 February, 19:00
Ticket Prices : £10 standard tickets
(£7 concessions/members)

Set design: Katya Bochavar, Costume Design: Andrei Bartenev, Choreography: Dina Hussein
Music: Anton Sevidov, Lighting: Ivan Vinogradov, Sound: Vladimir Klykov, Video: Patrick K.H.

Fedor Pavlov-Andreevich’s production of Elizaveta Bam reclaims a treasure of Russian avant-garde literature from historical obscurity. Daniil Kharms was one of Russia’s most important writers of the 1920-30s and a source of inspiration for absurdist playwrights Eugène Ionesco and Samuel Beckett. In 1942, Kharms fell victim to Stalin’s repressions and died of hunger in a gulag camp at the age of 37. His pseudonym “Kharms”, which derives from a play on the English words “harms” and “charms”, foresaw this tragic destiny. Stalin’s regime never allowed the publication of Kharms’ work, and the playwright’s contribution to avant-garde literature was largely lost, until now. Elizaveta Bam prefigures the atmosphere of Kafka’s short stories and Ionesco’s theatre of the absurd. It tells the story of a woman arrested for a murder not yet committed, mixing slapstick with pantomime and horror with humor. Written in 1929, the play was a harbinger to Stalin’s repressions that took the lives of 40 million people. The current production of Elizaveta Bam premiered in Moscow in July 2006. A riveting piece of theatre with innovative costume, set, and light design, Elizaveta Bam exposes the avant-garde roots of contemporary Russian culture. The play is an unprecedented result of a collaboration between talented artists whose average age is only twenty-five. Elizaveta Bam will be presented as a three-night engagement in London on 7-9 February 2008 at Theatro Technis. The production is part of Russian ACT No.4; it takes place in conjunction with the opening of Alexander Rodchenko’s retrospective at The Hayward.