Polya (Hazel Round) and Nikolia (Martin Humphrey)
Press Release 16 January 2012
Preview: BREAKING THE SILENCE at the Chesil Theatre
by Stephen Poliakoff, directed by Flavia Bateson
4 – 11 February at 7.45pm, with a 2.30pm matinee on 11 February (no performance on Sunday)
Martin Humphrey and Rachel O’Neill play husband and wife, Nikolai and Eugenia Pesiakoff, who are forced to flee their elegant home with their maid Polya (Hazel Round) and son Sasha (played by newcomer Max Homan) to live in a dilapidated railway carriage. Spanning 1920 – 1924, the play covers a key period in post-revolutionary Russian history.
The family is forced to reassess itself as relationships break and reform under the stresses caused by their new surroundings and what is expected of them. Eighteen year-old Max – a student at Peter Symonds College – said: “Working at the Chesil has been an amazing experience. There is such detail paid to every element of the production; from sourcing accurate train noises, to recreating the lighting effects of a major battle happening right by the carriage.”
Making their Chesil debuts in this play about survival and relationships are Matthew Ellison, Barnaby Stonier and Laurie Venters.
“One of the most thrillingly individual works of the last decade or two.” The Sunday Times
“Breaking the Silence has its origins in what happened to my father’s family in Russia immediately after the revolution.” Stephen Poliakoff
Tickets can be bought online at: http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/chesiltheatre
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