The Barn Theatre, Southwick Community Centre
December 11, 12, 13, & 14 2024
Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy
stage adaptation by Helen Edmundson
Directed by
Diane Robinson
‘I am very, very good at pretending, at playing the wife and mother.
I will not go on like this anymore.
I am alive and God has made me so that I need to love and live’
Anna is beautiful, wealthy and very admired, but she is empty – until a chance meeting throws her into emotional turmoil and a scandalous affair. Interwoven with this tale of destructive love is the story of Levin, an idealistic man trying to find meaning in life and a self-portrait of Tolstoy himself.
Set against the background of the snow-swept Russian Steppes, Anna Karenina is an epic story of love and loss. From the bustle of a Moscow train station to the swish of a high society ballroom, we are taken on a monumental journey, rich with vibrant characters, packed with stirring events and brimful of heartfelt passion.
This wonderful, very physical adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic, with an original score, is a vibrant and very moving study on the nature of love and destiny, of duty and of betrayal. Originally written for Shared Experience, it won the Time Out Award for outstanding Theatrical Event when it was first produced.
Cast
Millie Thurley – Anna
Dan Dryer – Levin
Izzy Boreham – Dolly
Dan Lovett – Count Vronsky / Nikolai
Rich Jayston – Stiva
Claire Wiggins – Princess Betsy
Esther Dracott – Kitty / Seriozha
David Peaty – Karenin
Ze Edden – Agatha / Railway widow
Rosy Armitage – Countess Vronsky
Maggi Pierce – Governess
Derek Fraser – Priest
Jas Crawford – Muffled figure / Death
TBC – Petritsky / Vassily
