Stephen Mulrine’s adaptation and translation of Venedikt Yerofeev’s novel Moscow to Petushki – A Canadian Premiere!

(running time: 90 min.)

drama, comedy

Moscow Stations brings Inconnu’s main creative forces together as Graham McDonald directs Clayton Jevne in this endlessly fascinating and explosively imaginative tale. While traveling on a train to see his girlfriend and his infant son, Yerofeev’s hero experiences his life to excess on every level:  sexual, religious, political, whimsical, and social – all permeated with a sense of irony. This story is filled with humour, and at the same time provides a surreal dissection of human nature.  Moscow Stations has been widely produced throughout Europe, but is virtually unknown in North America. In keeping with our mandate to surprise audiences with choice selections and “famous unknown” plays, we are very excited to introduce you to this piece. 

In the words of the New York Times:  This play is about “a messiah who has abandoned his flock and now wants only to put his own frayed life in order”

“Jevne’s performance at Wednesday’s opening was strong. Acted in a slightly heightened style, his Venya is, appropriately, a bristling mass of contradictions.  Confidently directed by Graham McDonald, Jevne holds our attention with deft use of movement and gesture. Although he acts on a tiny, triangular stage, his performance was surprisingly physical, even athletic. Jevne also cleverly captured the various characters that enter and exit Venya’s strange life.” ~ Times Colonist, Victoria, BC

It was a real treat to see a show such as this later on in its run (it’s actually been extended to January 15) and watch Jevne’s masterful performance. This absurd-but-poetic script is quite a mouthful, and director Graham McDonald has him stumbling all over —and around — Little Fernwood’s tiny stage. I never thought a meditation on the hiccup would be so entertaining and enthralling. ~ Monday Magazine, Victoria, BC

Yerofeev – a charming drunk caught up in either poetry or hallucinations – shares his meticulously charted drinking habits, his exile from respectable Soviet society and his thoughts on life, the universe and everything. And what a piece of character! Think of him as a George Carlin for the USSR of 1988. ~ Culture Vulture, Victoria, BC

MOSCOW STATIONS ON YOUTUBE!

Divine Hiccups – Barreling into Moscow Stations
Posted By: Amanda Farrell-Low
Monday Magazine review: Jan 7/11

They say it’s hard to act drunk. If that’s true, Clayton Jevne deserves accolades for his performance in Moscow Stations — and if it isn’t, he deserves them anyway, as he shows us that the plays anti-hero is not just a drunk of epic proportions, but also a human being.
The play — adapted by Stephen Mulrie from Venedict Yerofeev’s 1969 novel

Moscow to Petushki — tells the story of a booze-soaked commuter (also named Yerofeev) who is taking the train from Moscow to Petushki to visit his girlfriend and infant son. We first meet Yerofeev, who is like a cross between Tom Waits and Colonel Tigh from the re-visioned Battlestar Galactica series, when he awakens in a doorway in Moscow at dawn and begins to detail exactly what brand of booze he drank the night before and where he consumed it. After searching vainly for a place to have an early morning tipple — and observing a moment of silence for the two hours he had to spend dry — Yerofeev begins his journey, all the while waxing poetic about his passionate lover, the near-utopian town of Petushki as well as characters from both his past and his imagination.
One of the downsides of being a theatre reviewer is one often has to see a show near the beginning of the run. In the case of a one-man tour-de-force such as Moscow Stations, it can do a disservice to the play; it takes a few performances for any show — particularly a lengthier, intense solo performance — to really find its feet, so it can be a challenge to discern between early-run unevenness and a poor performance that isn’t likely to improve. It was a real treat to see a show such as this later on in its run (it’s actually been extended to January 15) and watch Jevne’s masterful performance. This absurd-but-poetic script is quite a mouthful, and director Graham McDonald has him stumbling all over —and around — Little Fernwood’s tiny stage. I never thought a meditation on the hiccup would be so entertaining and enthralling.
The setup for Moscow Stations is the definition of bare bones: a black wall and stage, with only two cubes as set pieces. The sole prop in the show is Yerofeev’s suitcase — although costume and prop master Michelle Lo’s choice to have Yerofeev don a multi-pocketed trenchcoat also provides some opportunities for entertainment. One can assume this is largely to do with the budgetary constraints companies like Inconnu face in these dicey financial times, but I would have liked even the suggestion of the Russian countryside or a train window painted on the wall. Still, Jevne’s strong performance ably carried the near two-hour performance (as McDonald stated in his front-of-house speech, “The show runs about 100 minutes, depending on how much Yerofeev has to drink.”)
While Moscow Stations has a bleak dénouement, there are still many laughs and lighthearted moments in this play. It’s no surprise the show is a hit overseas; indeed, it’s hard to believe Inconnu’s production is the Canadian premiere. Nevertheless, count Victoria fortunate to be hosting the first Canadian production of a fine play, performed by an equally fine actor.

Clayton Jevne - Biography
For over 30 years, Clayton Jevne has been at the helm of Theatre Inconnu, Victoria’s longest producing alternative theatre company.  His work has entertained and challenged audiences throughout Canada and the U.S., as well as Europe and Mexico.  Clayton was Artist-in-Residence at Bishops’ University in Quebec and is currently on staff with the theatre department at the University of Victoria.  His acclaimed One-Man Hamlet has played by invitation at the Festival Sinaloa (Mexico) and the Aberdeen Alternative Festival (Scotland) where he shared the line up with theatre legend Stephen Berkoff.  As Artistic Director of Victoria’s summer Shakespeare Festival (19991-2002), he directed numerous productions, and won critical praise for such roles as Jacques (As You Like It) and as King Lear. Clayton has proven to be a maverick in his work with young actors, and has spent twenty years perfecting an approach to actor training that draws on three decades of in behavioral sciences. He holds a PhD in actor-training research, as well as an MFA in directing, and a BFA in acting. Clayton’s more resent acting work with Theatre Inconnu includes:  Davies in The Caretaker, George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Best Actor-Victoria Critics Award), and Venya in the solo show Moscow Stations.  He also appeared this past December as the Father in the Belfry Theatre’s world premiere production of The Life Inside.  For Theatre Icnonnu Clayton recently directed the Canadian Premiere of New York OBIE award winning playwright Kyle Jarrow’s rock musical Love Kills, which was just successfully remounted in October, 2011 as part of the Phoenix Theatre’s (University of Victoria) main stage season.