The Coast of Utopia

The Coast of Utopia
Written by	Tom Stoppard
Characters	Alexander Herzen Vissarion Belinsky Ivan Turgenev Mikhail Bakunin
Date premiered	22 June 2002
Place premiered	Olivier Theatre London, England
Original language	English
Series	The Coast of Utopia: Voyage Shipwreck Salvage
Subject
Genre	Drama
Setting	pre-revolution Russia
IBDB profile

The Coast of Utopia is a 2002 trilogy of plays: Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage, written by Tom Stoppard with focus on the philosophical debates in pre-revolution Russia between 1833 and 1866.

The trilogy, nine hours in total, premiered with Voyage on 22 June 2002 at the National Theatre's Olivier auditorium in repertory, directed by Trevor Nunn. The openings of Shipwreck and Salvage followed on 8 July, and 19 July, completing its run on 23 November 2002. In 2006, directed by Jack O'Brien, the plays debuted on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, New York City, where it closed on May 13, 2007 after staging a combined total of 124 performances.

The trilogy has also been performed in Russia; it opened at Moscow's Russian Academic Youth Theatre in October 2007, where it was directed by Alexey Borodin.

The trilogy received its Japanese premiere at Theater Cocoon, Bunkamura in Tokyo on 12 September 2009 and completed its run (including 10 one-day marathon performances) on 4 October 2009. The production was directed by Yukio Ninagawa.

Productions

The cast includes Tony Award winners Brían F. O'Byrne, Richard Easton, Jennifer Ehle and Billy Crudup, along with Ethan Hawke, Josh Hamilton, Martha Plimpton, David Harbour, Jason Butler Harner and Amy Irving.

Several principal actors play multiple roles in each of the three plays. This table indicates the roles played by the main actors in both the original London production, New York production and recent Moscow production.

Full "Voyage" Cast:

• Billy Crudup: Vissarion Belinsky, A literary critic;
• Richard Easton: Alexander Bakunin;
• Jennifer Ehle: Liubov, Alexander Bakunin's daughter;
• Josh Hamilton: Nicholas Ogarev, Alexander Herzen's friend;
• David Harbour: Nicholas Stankevich, A young philosopher;
• Jason Butler Harner: Ivan Turgenev;
• Ethan Hawke: Michael Bakunin;
• Amy Irving: Varvara, Alexander Bakunin's wife;
• Brían F. O'Byrne: Alexander Herzen;
• Martha Plimpton: Varenka, Alexander Bakunin's daughter;
• Bianca Amato: Miss Chamberlain, An English governess;
• Mia Barron: Natalie Beyer, Mrs. Beyer's daughter;
• Larry Bull: Ensemble;
• Denis Butkus: Ensemble;
• Michael Carlsen: Ensemble;
• Amanda Leigh Cobb: Ensemble;
• Anthony Cochrane: Dyakov, Betrothed to Varenka;
• Patricia Conolly: Mrs. Beyer;
• David Cromwell: Peter Chaadaev, An essayist;
• Adam Dannheisser: Pushkin, A poet, Cat;
• Matt Dickson: Ensemble;
• Aaron Krohn: Nicholas Sazonov, Alexander Herzen's friend;
• Felicity LaFortune: Masha, A maid;
• Jennifer Lyon: Katya, Belinsky's mistress;
• David Manis: Semyon, Senior household servant;
• Andrew McGinn: Baron Renne, Betrothed to Liubov;
• Kellie Overbey: Tatiana, Alexander Bakunin's daughter;
• Scott Parkinson: Ensemble;
• David Pittu: Nicholas Polevoy, Editor of 'The Messenger';
• Annie Purcell: Alexandra, Alexander Bakunin's daughter;
• Erika Rolfsrud: Ensemble;
• Brian Sgambati: Ensemble;
• Robert Stanton: Stepan Shevyrev, A professor and editor;
• Eric Sheffer Stevens: Ensemble;
• Baylen Thomas: Nicholas Ketscher, A young doctor;
• David Christopher Wells: Ensemble

Awards and nominations

Awards

• 2007 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Play
• 2007 New York Drama Critics' Circle Best Play
• 2007 Tony Award for Best Play

References

• "The Coast of Utopia: Voyage". Royal National Theatre. 2008. http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/The%20Coast%20of%20Utopia%3A%20Voyage+1334.twl. Retrieved 2008-06-29. 

Further reading

• Stoppard, Tom (2002). The Coast of Utopia: Voyage. London: Faber and Faber. p. 106 pp. ISBN 0571216617. 
• Stoppard, Tom (2002). The Coast of Utopia: Shipwreck. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571216625. 
• Stoppard, Tom (2002). The Coast of Utopia: Salvage. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571216641. 

External links

• The Coast of Utopia: Voyage at the Internet Broadway Database
• The Coast of Utopia: Shipwreck at the Internet Broadway Database
• The Coast of Utopia: Salvage at the Internet Broadway Database

• Overview
• The Coast of Utopia official Lincoln Center Theater site
• Lincoln Center Theater blog
• Broadway Theatre Guide
• Reading list for The Coast of Utopia
• News on 2006-7 production