“A Hero of Our Time” at the Arcola Theatre
“A Hero of Our Time” on stage from 19 November to 15 December 2018 at the Arcola Theatre.
“Was I put on this earth to destroy the hopes of others?”
Pechorin, a resting soldier, amuses himself in a dull town by competing with his friend Grushnitsky over the affections of the young princess Mary. As the game grows crueller and more calculating, intimate thoughts are laid unflinchingly bare.
Welcome into the mind of a soldier, where bars and ballrooms become battlefields.
Created by HUNCHtheatre a new international company, comprised of artists from the UK, Belarus and Columbia, A Hero Of Our Time marks the world premiere of a new adaptation of Mikhail Lermontov’s neglected 1840 novel. Following a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, it comes to the Arcola for four weeks only.
Writer Oliver Bennet says “We have chosen to adapt the Princess Mary section of Lermontov’s novel. Over a long period of time we tried out different sections of the text to see what had the most theatrical potential. We wanted at every stage to mix nineteenth century Russia with twenty-first century London. Sometimes the script follows Lermontov’s poetic style and sometimes we use an ultra-modern slang. We mix balls and duels with modern technology to create a timeless zone. We wanted to reflect the speed and thrill of the original to make a visually, physically, verbally arresting experience. “
19 November–15 December 2018
Monday – Saturday, 8pm
Saturday matinees at 3.30pm
Tickets: £22 Standard, £20 Conc.
020 7503 1646
24 Ashwin Street, London E8 3DL