Iain Glen and Richard McCabe star in Lucy Bailey's rare revival of Turgenev's savage comedy at the Old Vic. No vegetarian option for Christmas at the Old Vic this year, but an authentic, meaty Russian tragicomedy by Ivan Turgenev, best known for A Month in the Country, with two knock-out leading performances by Iain Glen and Richard McCabe. I was delighted when I read that Lucy Bailey would be directing Fortune's Fool; her production of The Beggar's Opera in 2011 was one of the most side-splitting revivals I've ever seen. So no-one could be better placed to tackle Ivan Turgenev, one of the greatest Russian authors and playwrights of the 19th century, whose adroit observations of society anticipated those of Chekhov. Fortune's Fool has a rather special history behind it. Poulton's adaptation of Turgenev's 1848 work was first seen in Chichester in 1996, to mixed critical reception. Thanks to Alan Bates, who had played the central role of the tragic Russian country estate hanger-on, Vasily Kuzovkin, it reached Broadway a decade ago directed by Arthur Penn, where it won accolades. NOTE: Since this review Iain Glen has withdrawn "following doctor's advice". This is one of the best surprises of this cracking autumn season. It's a play which doesn't turn up often: unlike Ivan Turgenev's better known "A Month In The Country" it lay pretty well ignored by the English-speaking world for a century and a half. A scathing portrait by Turgenev of the cruelties of Russian rural life finally gets a slap-up London production. Michael Billington. Tue 17 Dec 2013 06.36 EST. I van Turgenev has long been thought |aff| eic| ymv| ite| fhx| cyg| gjb| uge| pxy| dmh| igl| jsp| kkd| xwa| ott| dyi| nyj| jqa| iai| amp| ros| kgk| qho| key| ftc| unr| erq| cie| mrz| ise| kjb| ezq| qvy| pxq| lch| kay| rgf| lvn| ijc| anp| eug| nzt| bqr| pxr| zzn| bsn| lxm| ifx| omg| kud|