A Cry From Underground

Adapted from Dostoevsky’s novella Notes From Underground (1860), Thorston Manderlay’s intelligent and very well-performed play presents us with a profound and sensitive study of a being too burdened by his own intellect to ‘fit in’ with a world he despises.

Manderlay himself plays the protagonist, nicknamed ‘Tolstoy’. It is an impressive performance, intimating a reverent nod to the works of Dostoevsky and others such as George Orwell, who have similarly attempted to relay the troubled train of thought of the ‘thinking man’: the soul acutely conscious of the hopeless inevitabilities of life, and disgusted by the ability of others to revel in its simple pleasures without carrying the awareness of their eventual decay with them.

Despite his character’s cynicism, Manderlay brings many different dimensions to his representation of ‘Tolstoy’ in the play. It is a soul which still experiences, perhaps more sincerely than others, desire, hope and human sympathy, which we see unfold during his encounter with a prostitute, Lisa, whom he encourages to escape from the downwards spiral in which she is trapped. Manderlay’s polished skill in representing a man who is capable of hope, but whose hopes will always be quelled by a sense of futility, indicates an identification with Dostoevsky’s original novella which transcends mere understanding or study.