‘Delirium’, an original interpretation of Fyodor Dostoyevski’s masterpiece ‘The Brothers Karamazov’, must have been so called because of the madness that appeared on stage that night.
Uproarious, scandalous and irreverent high-octane entertainment, very pacy with the action moved along by quick-change sets and the storyline advanced and told by a ‘mental’ puppeteer.
How you could get the story of Dostoyevski’s epic work of human psychology in one go like this? Well, Enda Walsh’s script managed it and it was a thoroughly modern take, full of humour and ingenuity.
The plot hangs on the relationship between a father and his three sons. Fyodor Karamazov, the thoroughly disgraceful father, holds the keys of his sons’ futures as they all return to claim their inheritance.
There is a fourth bastard son, Smerdyakov, who he has turned into his servant, played as a comic turn by Lucien MacDougall. Then there are the women, Grushenka and Katerina acting up. Mayhem ensues.
Carolina Valdes, playing Katerina, gets the best lines and Julie Bower as Grushenka, sings really well, dances gracefully, you can’t take your eyes off her when she’s on stage. The girls steal the show. Eva Vilamitjana was responsible for the excellent choreography.
The multi-media experience does not take away at all from the great acting. Fyodor was played by Denis Quilligan and the three sons, Alyosha by Joseph Alford; Ivan by Dominic Burdess; Mitya by Nick Lee.
‘Delirium’ was created by Theatre O, a collaboration between the performing artists, directed by Joseph Alford, and as already noted, written by Enda Walsh.
The novel itself, ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ is darker, more lengthy and more difficult than ‘Crime and Punishment’, which was a page turner, (if you’re into that sort of thing!).
Karamazov was Dostoyevski’s final work, constructed by him early in his life, and completed with much difficulty at the end of his life. Like other massive novels, it spans two generations and takes on all the big themes. It will definitely get you thinking and praying, if you can adjust to all the Russian names and characters.