Monkhead Theatre presents:
DEAD SOULS
July 4th – 8th, Theatre N16
Featuring live video feedback and sound sculpture, Monkhead Theatre presents a non-traditional adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s 19th century masterpiece. Be prepared to explore the world beyond the stage, as we set our characters loose on 21st century London…
“A complicated and intelligent play. Congrats!” Audience Feedback
Dead Souls is Gogol’s unfinished epic satire of Russian society, the hilarious story of Pavel Chichikov’s twisted quest to acquire as many dead serfs as he can. Dead Souls is a darkly comic novel about the power of the Capitalist system to turn human beings into numbers and the ways in which cynical individuals exploit this, eroding their own humanity in the process. One hundred years on from the revolution, the big and scary question of Russian literature – In what kind of society do we want to live? – has never been more relevant to a Western audience.
“It’s got something very Tom Stoppard (…) with more style” Audience Feedback
Monkhead is a minority ethnic and female-led theatre company specialising in experimental adaptations of classic literature. Chloë Myerson is a working television writer represented by The Agency, and Nico Pimparé is a working actor and director, and a member of the Young Vic Directors Programme and of the National Youth Theatre. Together they formed Monkhead Theatre in 2017, inspired by a mutual love both of the well-structured narratives and ambitious social arcs of classic literature and the wild rock & roll playfulness of experimental multimedia theatre. Monkhead adopts a holistic and ensemble-based approach to theatre-making, where the entire creative team build a world together from the collective imagination. The work in the rehearsal room is based around Lecoq, Bogart and Grotowski principles – including video, physical theatre and sound sculpture.
Dead Souls stars Toby Osmond (Thomas Cromwell in Henry VIII and His Six Wives, Channel 5), Joshua Jacob (Jeremy in Switch, Tricycle Theatre) and Jules Armana (nominated for Best Actor in the Hof Independent Fim Festival for his performance in Meier, Müller, Schmidt, Förderpreis Neues Deutsches Kino).