Guest Blog: 'It Burnt Itself Into My Memory': Director Laurence Boswell on Dostoevsky and THE DREAM OF A RIDICULOUS MAN

Dostoevsky has always been my favourite novelist – he is the chronicler of the troubled mind. I first read The Dream of a Ridiculous Man when I was at university. It burnt itself into my memory. As I was on a walk during lockdown it came back to me – I reread it and it felt like it might have something to say to us – a tale of an individual in crisis in difficult times, and the pandemic felt difficult.

It seems to me that as a society we are bewitching ourselves with apocalyptic tales – terrible stories about the state of the planet, the state of the political order, the state of our mental health – The Dream of a Ridiculous Man is ultimately a positive story and I thought it might be useful to add it into the mix.

When you adapt a story for the stage you need to know it inside and out – so you read and reread it until you can see the shape of the story, and then it’s a matter of editing. In a play, the actor can suggest something with a gesture, the designer can conjure up an image so you don’t need all those words. You choose the words that are essential.

Then I decided to set the story in contemporary London, so there was a process of translation: I transcribed the language and the characters from 19th century Russia  to contemporary London. Once you get the text into rehearsal, the editing process continues. When you get it up on its feet you realise the actor can suggest so much, so again the words fall away.

Audiences will see a bravura performance from Greg Hicks. It’s a show with serious themes and numerous characters and locations – and Greg must transform himself vocally, physically and spiritually to fulfil the journey of the tale.

Dostoevsky is a serious writer so sometimes I need something to calm myself down in the evening after rehearsing – I’m watching a Netflix series about street food around the world, which is packed with beautiful scenery and fantastic grub. It’s escapism, and at the other end of the spectrum there are forms of entertainment that take on big themes, such as is there a God, and why do people suffer? It’s important that we have broad range of choices in our theatre, and it's good to have something that deals with the deeper, darker needs we have. Sometimes we need escapism, but we also need to contemplate the mystery of things.

Dostoevsky is also incredibly funny – light always seems to turn up as you dive into the dark with him. This story is entertaining and challenging – it is about a man who gets depressed, loses meaning and sinks into despair – but it’s a story of coming through the darkness and up into the light. It’s a truthful place Dostoevsky takes us to in the dark, and then gives us a staircase into the light. His honesty and compassion for suffering humankind is inspiring – he is a writer full of love.

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man is at the Marylebone Theatre from 21 March – 20 April

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