Melbourne Fringe: Destroy Solzhenitsyn

It would not be difficult to become absorbed by the concept of a play surrounding events in Alexander Solzhenitsyn's life. Luckily for Vlady T, the script was already written. "Destroy Solzhenitsyn is written by an internationally acclaimed playwright John Joofor Lee. John wrote the play, hoping that the story of Solzhenitsyn will inspire people around the world. The reason I agreed to direct the production was that I was fascinated by the idea of one man standing up to so many powerful political forces and ideologies. The tagline of the show is "Can one man save the world by changing it?" and I think it describes the core of the play incredibly well."

While the play is technically fiction, Vlady T considers it to be an honest account of Solzhenitsyn's struggles, including life and death battles against Nazism, communism and capitalism. "Destroy Solzhenitsyn tackles history, philosophy, politics and religion, rather than going the light and fluffy pathway some other shows do. A fair few shows at the moment certainly have a 'me too' feel about them, trying to join the popular trends of the moment or carbon-copying popular shows. Destroy Solzhenitsyn was not designed to be trendy. Rather, it was created to be an interesting, deep, thought-provoking piece of theatre.

"To me a good play is something that makes me think. If a few days after the show I am still pondering about the themes, motives, characters — then to me that's a good show."

What: Destroy Solzhenitsyn

When & Where: 22 Sep — 3 Oct, The Clover Club, Gasworks