Research and Development

Dmitry / Дмитрий

By Peter Oswald
With Alexander Gifford
After Friedrich Von Schiller

This explosive new version of the great German writer’s last, unfinished play – resurrected in the unique, pulsating dramatic verse of Peter Oswald – is being developed by dramaturg Alexander Gifford to be premiered in a production directed by Tim Supple.

1605. Orthodox Russia stands alone, defiant against the Roman Catholic and Protestant West. In the Kremlin, Tsar Boris Gudonov has suppressed all opposition and keeps a ruthless grip on power with the support of the church and an appeal to nationalist sentiment.

In Poland a formidable young opponent appears: Dmitry, the youngest son of Ivan, presumed murdered by Gudunov fifteen years before. A Polish army, supported by Rome and fuelled by European fear of the Russian threat, takes up Dmitry’s cause and marches on Moscow.

But is he who he thinks he is?

A brilliant poetic drama that cuts to the psychological, political, and spiritual heart of the epochal Russian story.

SHAHNAMEH / شاهنامه فردوسی

By Abulqasem Ferdowsi
Translated by Dick Davis
Dramatised by Alexander Gifford and Tim Supple

One the greatest poetic achievements in history, written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi one thousand years ago, Shahnameh tells the epic story of the Iranian nation: from Creation to the Arab invasion in the 7th century. Part ancient myth, part mystical legend and part historical chronicle, Shahnameh is an artistic rebuke to the arrogance and folly of authoritarian power. Commissioned by the UK’s National Theatre, workshops in London and Tehran produced a 300 page verse text by Dick Davies, the world’s leading Shahnameh interpreter. Development continues towards a theatrical adaptation that will give audiences an experience of this supreme work of folk narrative, high poetry and epic drama.

THE ANARCHY / दी ऎन॔की

Based on William Dalrymple’s sensational book.

The story of the East India Company’s domination of India, the production will be devised by an Indian/UK cast and creative team. 50 turbulent years of high drama in the 18th century saw the first power-grab in international corporate history. Littered with great characters and extraordinary event, The Anarchy asks essential questions about the forces and legacy of global capitalism, European colonialism, and political communalism.