Diary of a Madman
after Gogol
Cast and Crew
- Director/Deviser
- Jonathan Heron
- Designer
- Nomi Everall
- Sound Design
- Toby Knowles / Ed Lewis
- Performer/Deviser
- Chris Tester
- Lighting Designer
- Dave Thwaites
- Assistant Producer
- Jesse Meadows
- Assistant Producer
- Jenny Mills
- Assistant Director
- James McPhun
- Assistant Stage Manager
- Nat Rossetti
- Producer
- Jonathan Heron
- Associate Producer
- Ric Watts
About the production
![[Scream]](./madman-9.jpg "Scream")
![['The letter is quite legible, though the handwriting looks a bit doggy']](./madman-10.jpg "'The letter is quite legible, though the handwriting looks a bit doggy'")
![['Ferdinand VIII, King of Spain']](./madman-11.jpg "'Ferdinand VIII, King of Spain'")
![['Silence. The less said the better. Silence.']](./madman-1.jpg "'Silence. The less said the better. Silence.'")
"I love going to the theatre. As long as I've a kopeck in my pocket you can't stop me."
"... remarkably punchy ... strikingly inventive ... a truly gripping piece of theatre."
**** Fest
"A powerful and moving piece of theatre."
**** Three Weeks
"This show is absolutely riveting. It is funny, sad and moving; do not miss it!"
***** - Audience member - edfringe.com
"Beautiful little discovery at the Underbelly - a stunning setting... An incredibly accomplished one-man performance... Highly recommended!"
Audience member - Fest Online
"...the acting is intense, with rich flowing movement ... and touchingly emotive lighting..."
Audience member
obsession. alienation. breakdown. crisis. psychosis.
...and two little dogs writing each other letters.
Axenty Ivanovich, a Russian titular councillor, finds he can no longer exist as a mere civil servant in St Petersburg. His failure to write begins a transformational journey that will take him either to the Spanish court or to a brutal asylum.
Performed alone on an intricate set in a continuous flow of action, this one-man show challenges the spectator to see Axenty within themselves. Using methods central to the company's practice, this production tells a tragicomic story through an intensely focused and detailed immediacy that defines the Fail Better aesthetic.
This production premiered at the Rosemary Branch Theatre, London in August 2007 and was 'Best Fringe Show of 2007' for Tamara Gausi of Time Out London:
"Fail Better's accomplished one-man performance [featuring] ... an enchanting Chris Tester ... terse direction ... an absorbing performance ... clever lighting design ... a set [that] perfectly captures the claustrophobic mania ... a reminder that madness sits dangerously close to us all."
Time Out London
To read reviews and audience feedback from the London run of this production, click here
