IDIOT THEATRE PLAY
This Wednesday Me and a couple of close friends went to see a sort of modern adaptation of The Idiot. I've been incessantly obsessing over this book for about 2 years and seeing live actors bring the characters to life was one of the best experiences of my life.
The set was beautiful, it was built to look like a train station, a bit sterile, fluorescent lights all round, checkered floor, 6 carved wood benches and a few smoke machines. though the most important part of the set being a set of stairs going under the stage.
The entire play was color coded to be mainly black/white with some blue or green tones, most importantly in the clothes of characters.
One of the biggest changes/ additions to the story was, that Myshkin was prancing around with a camera. The show basically started with Myshking taking a photo of the audience
The camera ends up being thematically relevant especially towards the end, as Nastasya caresses Myshkin in her arms, she orders for him to go find his camera and make the moment last forever, once he leaves she screams for Rogozhin to save Myshkin and take her away. The biggest plot twist being that as Myshkin comes back, the stage wallpaper starts closing off the stage. Prince almost storms out down the stairs, then changes his mind, coming back up with a spiel about the camera. How "Inside the camera it is fully dark, but once the shutter goes off, a tiny bit of light shines through." And once he's done with his eloquent speech, he starts screaming and banging on the wallpaper like a madman, Yelling at rogozhin to let him see Nastasya.
(Actors who play Rogozhin |Petr Panzerberger| and Myshkin |Robert Finta|)
However my favourite part of the play were the actors performance and costume design + storytelling through them.
(this is a photo from the official theatre pamphlet)
Myshkin
The prince had one simple outfit he wore throughout almost the entire play, only exception being after his first fit, where he's wearing some kind of sleepwear. I suppose this just shows his lack of need to "impress" others and his humility.
This isn't visible in the sketch, however in the theatre, the entire suit sparkles. The trend of using glittery fabrics doesnt end with Myshkin, almost the entire set is always sparkling. However the one person who shines comparibly to the Prince, is Nastasya. In my opinion the sparkles symbolize who is hurtful to Myshkin the most, which is Nastasya and himself. (rogozhin has also slightly glittery clothing but it doesnt compare, which implies he's less dangerous ?)
Another part of his uniform are a pair of white fur mittens attached ona string to his clothes. He shares a fur accessory with Rogozhin and Totsky. (Also wanted to mention that Ganya had no fur near him) I believe the fur symbolizes love the wearer has for nastasya. Myshkins are white and pure like his intentions with her. at the beginning he takes the gloves off multiple times just to put them on once more, like how he keeps coming back and accepting her back into his arms. And in the second half of the play he doesn't wear them at all. His time with the mittens has been cut short, similarly to how Rogozhin takes Nastasyas life and cuts her life short as well.
Lastly, the blue ribbon Myshkin wears around his neck, is most likely showcasing that Myshkin is only capable of speaking the truth as the color blue symbolizes it.
(Rogozhin had a drawn design in the pamphlet but it didn't get used in the final, so here's a photo from the instagram instead)
Rogozhin
He has slightly more outfit changes than Myshkin. He starts with a simple black coat and a white shirt. On Nastasyas birthday he prances around, wearing the ridiculous boots and a suit. Later in the second part, he switches between wearing just the white shirt or pulling a leather jacket over himself. making him seem either more rugged or vulnerable depending on the scene.
The boots, like the Prince's mittens, are made of fur and symbolize his unhealthy love to nastasya. The boots are ginormous, the love is passionate, almost overwhelming. Colored in an off grey, clearly symbolizing his unclear motives. The object chosen for the fur could also symbolize that he's willing to step over her. In the birthday party he only wears the shoes for a short while, until Nastasya tells him to take her away, he takes the shoes off and runs around barefoot. Symbolizing how his deep love turns even into deeper hate.
I'm going to mention Totsky in the Rogozhin section because Totsky is not getting his own section. But he wears a pastor-like coat. which is lined with strips of black fur. I think this speaks for itself.
(this is a photo from the official theatre pamphlet)
Nastasya
She starts off very extravagant but provocative. Going to the ivolgin home only in a black sparkly bodysuit. She shows off, until Myshkin tells her to be ashamed. The next time she's on the stage (at her birthday party) she wears a dark grey blazer over the bodysuit. possibly trying to contain what she deems as hurtful to Myshkin.
In the second part she appears scarcely, but when she does she wears the green dress from above. Just wearing a light jacked made out of the sparkly material, no longer attempting to hide how hurtful she could be to Myshkin, maybe even showing it in his face to ward him off. The green of the dress possibly showing off her greed, of how she wants Myshking to herself despite knowing it would ruin him. The greed, just as the dress, limiting her mobility, pulling her to the ground with how heavy and large it is.
