Diary of a Madman

‘Harrowing but gripping stuff.’ 
Western Mail

​

​

ADAPTED FROM THE SHORT STORY BY NIKOLAI GOGOL.

​

Gogol’s Diary of a Madman is a funny and brutal exploration of one man’s struggle to keep a grip on reality. The story is unique in Gogol’s repertoire: it is the only story he wrote in the first person and it takes the unusual form of a diary or memoir. Set in St Petersburg in 1830s Russia, Diary of a Madman is ostensibly a satirical exposure of the stupidity of officialdom, and of the snobbery and complacency of the ruling elite in Russian society. But it is also a portrayal of psychosis. Here, madness might mean a failure to find your proper place in the world, or the compulsion to occupy a place to which you’re not entitled. Diary of a Madman is a tragic portrayal of one man’s longing to find such a place for himself, a place where he is visible, where he matters, and above all, belongs.

​

PERFORMANCES

Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Wales
Triad Stage (Cabaret Space), University of North Carolina, Greensboro, USA.
Mannheim Theatre Festival, Germany.
2014 Yerevan Theatre Festival, Armenia.
Sherman Cymru, Cardiff.
Torch Theatre, Milford Haven.
Hay Festival, Hay on Wye.
Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
Riverfront, Newport.
Pontardawe Arts Centre.
Taliesin Arts Centre.
Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli.
Galeri, Caernarfon.
Tobacco Factory, Bristol.
Venue 13, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, British Council Showcase 2015.

​

CREATIVE TEAM

Direction: Sinéad Rushe
Performance: Robbie Bowman
Design: Sarah Beaton

Lighting design: Katy Stephenson
Sound design: Roland Melia, Tom Raybould
Assistant direction: Julia Wyndham. Understudy: Ionnis Sholto
Stage management: Beth Dawson
Production: Elen Bowman, Living Pictures, Cegin Productions

​

CAST

Rose Riley. Gabriele Lombardo. Sophie Dessauer. Rachel Leah Stock. Mathias Asplund.
Original cast: Alice Hewkin, Sundi Scott, Charlène Ségeral,Tai Yin Chan, Matthew Churcher, Maria Penella Gomez.

​

FUNDED BY: Arts Council of Wales, Cegin Productions, British Council, Wales in Edinburgh and Wales Arts International Awards 2015. 

SUPPORTED BY: Sherman Cymru Theatre, Cardiff, Wales.