Premier on 20 July 2023
Based on the play “Every Good Boy Deserves A Favour” by TOM STOPPARD
Music ANDRÉ PREVIN
Directed by ELMO NÜGANEN
Stage design and costumes KRISTJAN SUITS
Music director and conductor TÕNU KALJUSTE
Translated by ANU LAMP
On stage:
Alexander – JAN UUSPÕLD
Ivanov – PEETER TAMMEARU
Doctor – PRIIT VÕIGEMAST
Teacher – KADRI VOORAND
Colonel – TÕNU KALJUSTE
TALLINN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
The play concerns a dissident, Alexander Ivanov, who is imprisoned in a Russian mental hospital, from which he will not be released until he admits that his statements against the government were caused by a (non-existent) mental disorder.
In the hospital he shares a cell with a genuinely disturbed schizophrenic, also called Ivanov, who believes himself to have a symphony orchestra under his command. Alexander receives visits from the Doctor and from a Colonel in the KGB.
Meanwhile, his son, Sacha, is seen in a school classroom with a teacher who attempts to convince him of the genuineness of his father’s illness.
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1977), a tremendously witty and biting political satire by one of the greatest modern playwrights Tom Stoppard, sounds as contemporary in 2023 as it was in the year it was written.
What is the fate of a nonconformist, who metaphorically speaking is like a penetrating dissonant sound in a “well-orchestrated” society. What can a repressive regime do to a dissident who cannot be broken or silenced?
The cast comprises actors, but also a full chamber orchestra, which not only provides music throughout the play but also forms an essential part of the action.
Dissonantsed (Living in Dissonance) is a coproduction by Nargenfestival, Viimsi Artium and Tallinn Philharmonic.
