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The Coast of Utopia

The Coast of Utopia
Written byTom Stoppard
CharactersAlexander Herzen
Vissarion Belinsky
Ivan Turgenev
Mikhail Bakunin
Date premiered22 June 2002
Place premieredOlivier Theatre
London, England
Original languageEnglish
SeriesThe Coast of Utopia
  • Voyage
  • Shipwreck
  • Salvage
GenreDrama
Settingpre-revolution Russia

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. It was the recipient of the 2007 Tony Award for Best Play. The title comes from a chapter in Avrahm Yarmolinsky's book Road to Revolution: A Century of Russian Radicalism (1959).

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 13 May 2007 after 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, 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.

Production history

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London premiere

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Directed by Trevor Nunn, the trilogy premiered with Voyage at the Olivier Theatre in London on 22 June 2002, followed by Shipwreck and Salvage with a six-month run ended on 23 November 2002.[1]

Reviewing the play in The Guardian, drama critic Michael Billington wrote, "Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia in the Olivier is a bundle of contradictions. Comprising three three-hour plays, it is heroically ambitious and wildly uneven. ... But I wouldn't have missed it for worlds and at its heart it contains a fascinating lesson about the nature of drama."[2] He further commented on Stoppard the dramatist, "I think it is time we began to appreciate Stoppard not for his intellectual legerdemain, but for what he is actually best at: exploring the mystery of existence, the anguish of the human heart and the strange fact that it is our apprehension of death that gives joy and intensity to life."[3]

Broadway debut

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The trilogy's Broadway debut was directed by Jack O'Brien at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York City. The cast included Brían F. O'Byrne, Richard Easton, Jennifer Ehle, Billy Crudup, Ethan Hawke, Josh Hamilton, Martha Plimpton, David Harbour, Jason Butler Harner and Amy Irving.[4] Viewed as "the season's ultimate snob ticket",[4] the production ran from November 2006 to May 2007 with a combined total of 124 performances.

In his review for The New York Times, Ben Brantley called the production "brave and gorgeous", adding that "I wouldn't call it [the play] a major work of art. In literary terms I wouldn't even rank it with Mr. Stoppard's best (in which I include the Broadway-bound Rock 'n' Roll). But as directed by Jack O'Brien and acted and designed by a stellar team of artisans, Utopia is a major work of theatrical craftsmanship, a luscious advertisement for the singular narrative seductiveness of drama."[4]

The production was nominated for ten Tony Awards and won seven, breaking the Tony record for the most awards given to a play.[5][6]

Characters and cast

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The following table indicates the roles played by the main cast in London, New York, and Moscow, respectively. Several principal actors played multiple roles in each of the three plays.

Role in Voyage Role in Shipwreck Role in Salvage Actor in London, 2002 Actor in New York, 2006 Actor in Moscow, 2007
Alexander Herzen Stephen Dillane Brían F. O'Byrne Ilya Isaev
Liubov Bakunin Natalie Herzen Malwida von Meysenbug Eve Best Jennifer Ehle Nelly Uvarova
Vissarion Belinsky n/a Will Keen Billy Crudup Evgeny Redko
Ivan Turgenev Guy Henry Jason Butler Harner Alexey Miasnikov
Mikhail Bakunin Douglas Henshall Ethan Hawke Stepan Morozov
Alexander Bakunin Leonty Ibayev Stanislaw Worcell John Carlisle Richard Easton Viktor Tsymbal
Varenka Bakunin Natasha Tuchkova Natasha Tuchkova Ogareva Charlotte Emmerson Martha Plimpton Ramilya Iskander

Historical figures

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The play is well known for including a cast of more than 70 characters, many based on historical figures of the period.

Major Characters
Minor Characters

Awards and nominations

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2002 National Theatre Olivier production

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Year Award Category Nominee Result
2003 Laurence Olivier Awards Best New Play Tom Stoppard Nominated
Best Set Design William Dudley Nominated
Best Costume Design William Dudley Nominated
Best Lighting Design David Hersey Nominated

2006-2007 Broadway production

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Year Award Category Nominee Result
2007 Tony Awards Best Play Tom Stoppard Won
Best Direction of a Play Jack O'Brien Won
Best Leading Actor in a Play Brian F. O'Byrne Nominated
Best Featured Actor in a Play Billy Crudup Won
Ethan Hawke Nominated
Best Featured Actress in a Play Jennifer Ehle Won
Martha Plimpton Nominated
Best Scenic Design of a Play Bob Crowley and Scott Pask Won
Best Costume Design of a Play Catherine Zuber Won
Best Lighting Design of a Play Brian MacDevitt, Kenneth Posner, and Natasha Katz Won
Drama Desk Awards[7] Outstanding Play Won
Outstanding Director of a Play Jack O'Brien Won
Outstanding Actor in a Play Brian F. O'Byrne Nominated
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Billy Crudup Nominated
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Martha Plimpton Won
Outstanding Music for a Play Mark Bennett Won
Outstanding Set Design of a Play Bob Crowley and Scott Pask Won
Outstanding Costume Design Catherine Zuber Won
Outstanding Lighting Design Kenneth Posner, Brian MacDevitt, and Natasha Katz Won
Outstanding Sound Design Mark Bennett Nominated
Drama League Awards[8] Distinguished Production of a Play Won
Distinguished Performance Billy Crudup Nominated
Ethan Hawke Nominated
Brian F. O’Byrne Nominated
New York Drama Critics Circle Awards[9] Best Play Tom Stoppard Won
Outer Critics Circle Awards[10] Outstanding New Broadway Play Won
Outstanding Director of a Play Jack O'Brien Won
Outstanding Actor in a Play Brian F. O'Byrne Nominated
Outstanding Actress in a Play Jennifer Ehle Nominated
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Billy Crudup Nominated
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Martha Plimpton Won
Outstanding Set Design Bob Crowley and Scott Pask Won
Outstanding Costume Design Catherine Zuber Won
Outstanding Lighting Design Brian MacDevitt, Kenneth Posner, and Natasha Katz Won

References

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  1. ^ "The Coast of Utopia: Voyage". Royal National Theatre. 2008. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
  2. ^ Billington, Michael (5 August 2002). "The Coast of Utopia". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  3. ^ Billington, Michael (7 August 2002). "The real thing". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Brantley, Ben (19 February 2007). "Those Storm-Tossed Revolutionaries Reach Port". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  5. ^ Robertson, Campbell (15 May 2007). "'Spring Awakening' Gets 11 Tony Nominations". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  6. ^ Robertson, Campbell (11 June 2007). "'Coast of Utopia' Breaks a Tony Record for Awards Given to a Play". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  7. ^ "Drama Desk Awards 2006-2007 winners announced". New York Theatre Guide. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  8. ^ "2007 Drama League Award Winners Announced". 11 May 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Past Awards". www.dramacritics.org. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  10. ^ BWW News Desk. "Outer Critics Circle Winners Announced; Utopia & Spring Awakening Lead Pack". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 28 April 2023.

Further reading

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