Crime and Punishment @ Citizens Theatre

The act of adapting Dostoyevsky’s literary masterpiece for the stage is a bold one, but this production of Crime and Punishment while timeless, is more cerebral than moving.  

Based on the novel, Crime and Punishment charts ex-student Raskolnikov’s psychological demise after committing a double murder.  Lashing out against an unjust world, he bargains that greater good could come from one act of violence and uses this argument to justify murder. 

It’s a challenging piece of work and the play seems to suffer from carrying the weight of the novel.  How do you dramatise internal conflict in a dramatically compelling way?  Playwright Chris Hannan’s adaptation is admirable but the play feels overly expositional with many scenes exploring ideas through dialogue rather than action. 

At times it plays out like a psychological drama which is compelling.  As Raskolnikov struggles with his intentions, the rest of the cast become a Greek chorus of sorts, voicing the thoughts in his head.  After the murders have been committed, Raskolnikov has his own Lady Macbeth moment, trying to expunge the heinous act from his being.  

For all its large cast, Crime and Punishment is essentially a one-man show.  Adam Best makes for an engaging Raskolnikov but the character itself remains an unsympathetic anti-hero, who seems more relieved to have confessed to his sin than remorseful for the action itself. 

The play closes on a beautiful image imparting truths; it’s both ironic and fitting that a play about amorality turns out to be a morality play.