Diary of a Madman
after Gogol
Cast and Crew
- Director/Deviser
- Jonathan Heron
- Designer
- Nomi Everall
- 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 King of Spain]](./madman-4.jpg "The King of Spain")
![[Axenty Ivanovich, the 'madman']](./madman-1.jpg "Axenty Ivanovich, the 'madman'")
![['Everything is as bright as day']](./madman-2.jpg "'Everything is as bright as day'")
"I love going to the theatre. As long as I've a kopeck in my pocket you can't stop me."
obsession
alienation
breakdown
crisis
psychosis
trauma
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 this production, click here
