In his short shorty The Overcoat, Gogol, a master of shrewd social satire, presents a portrayal of a humble and diligent low-ranking official Akaky Akakiyevich as an archetype of purity within an inexorable and hierarchically conditioned bureaucratized world. In the meticulous and acrimonious depiction of the anomalies of the Russian bourgeois convention, the anti-hero Akaky proves to be an absolute antithesis to revolting, superficial consumerism and an obsession with a power position. In a tragic society that is strikingly reminiscent of today, the comical Akaky remains misunderstood for good. The protagonist’s fate is tragicomic, while the lack of empathy for anything that deviates from the canon of the futile social average remains disturbingly tragic, even farcical.
We have an immense gift for transforming everything that exists into an irrelevance. (N. V. Gogol)
Such a reading of Gogol’s outline is here pursued by musical dramatization which seeks inspiration in the form of music theatre (Musiktheater). Music is one of the basic expressive means of the present staging and flows almost throughout the staging, be it as a backdrop or as a set of songs which occasionally assume the main role of the narrative.
Composer Marjan Nećak
Stage Adaptation by Tina Kosi, Juš A. Zidar
Director Juš A. Zidar
Dramaturg Tina Kosi
Set Designer Dorian Šilec Petek
Costume Designer Tina Bonča
Language Consultant Jože Volk
Lighting Designers Juš A. Zidar, Denis Kresnik
Cast
Branko Završan
Beti Strgar
Urban Kuntarič
Opening 24 January 2020
Performance duration: 1 hour and 10 minutes. No interval.
New Hymn, a poem by Tone Pavček, and a quote from Aloud and Straight, First Prologue to the Poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky (translated by Tone Pavček) are used in the production.
Stage manager Zvezdana Kroflič Štrakl • Prompter Simona Krošl • Lighting master Denis Kresnik • Sound master Mitja Švener • Property master Roman Grdina • Front-of-house manager Domen Ocvirk • Make-up artists Marjana Sumrak, Andreja Veselak Pavlič • Wardrobe masters Melita Trojar, Mojca Panič • Head of construction Gregor Prah • Assistant technical manager Rajnhold Jelen • Technical manager Miha Peperko
