London Premiere - 99 min - via Google Video
A play by Daniil Kharms
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.
This 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 was presented as a three-night engagement in London on 7-9 February 2008 at Theatro Technis. The production was part of Russian ACT No.4; taking place in conjunction with the opening of Alexander Rodchenko’s retrospective at The Hayward.
www.markaff.ru
www.russianact.co.uk
Directed and written by Fedor Pavlov / Commissioned by marka.ff
Produced by Aleksandrina Markvo
Set Design: Katya Bochavar
Costumes: Andrei Batenev
Choreography: Dina Hussein
Music: Anton Sevidov
Music performed by: Tina Kyznetsova, Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, Ilya Rubinstein
Lighting: Ivan Vinogradov
Sound Design: Vladimir Klykov
Video: Patrick K. H.
Graphic Design: Just Design
Co-ordinating manager: Lina Vinogradova
Stage Manager: Igor Kudriavtsev
Actors: Evgeny Stychkin, Danil Vorobiov, Yaroslav Zhanin, Nodar Siradze, Sergey Ganin
This video production of a live performance was made at London's Theatro Technis on 9th February 2008, and ends with a 10 minute interview with the writer/director of the production, Fedor Pavlov-Andreevich, and also features comments by Founder and Artistic Director of Theatro Technis, George Eugeniou.
More information about Daniil Kharms can be found at:
www.kirjasto.sci.fi/kharms.htm
This video and web presentation by:
Aspects MultiMedia Productions