“Dying For It”, Written By Moira Buffini And Directed By Terence Mann

Painfully funny, beautifully tragic, a satirical Soviet classic. Imagine Anton Chekhov meets Wes Anderson._ _ In 1920’s Soviet Union, Semyon Podsekalnikov lives in a hallway with his long-suffering wife and mother-in-law. Unemployed and disheartened with just about everything, Semyon decides to take his own life. When news of his intention spreads, things take a turn for the better. He becomes a hero, a celebrity, as an endless procession of desperate, disillusioned and eccentric comrades try to convince him to die for their specific cause.

Moira Buffini’s pacey text is a free adaptation of Nikolai Erdman’s subversive Soviet classic, The Suicide; a play banned by Stalin in 1932, before even a single performance. It was brought to life on BBC Radio 3 in 1978 and revived by the Royal Shakespeare Company a year later. Over the years it has gained a reputation as the best Russian theatrical satire since The Government Inspector.

Age Guidance: 13+