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Crime and Punishment

One of the most extraordinary novels of all time, Crime and Punishment gets inside the mind of a starving, destitute student who commits a brutal double murder. Chris Hannan has created an exciting and fresh new stage adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s masterpiece.

Raskolnikov is surrounded by the harsh injustices of the world; the grime of poverty and prostitution, unscrupulous pawnbrokers chasing debts; and a sister about to marry someone she doesn’t love to keep her family alive. His guilt is unbearable. Only Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute, can offer any chance of redemption. Read more …

As Raskolnikov enters a dangerous cat and mouse game with the magistrate, a psychological thriller unfolds.


The critical consensus

Stark in presentation, rich in detail.

****(*)Mark Fisher, The Guardian, 08/09/2013

Under Hill, the taut script becomes an exciting commentary on Dostoyevsky’s philosophical obsessions without losing the tension of the crime drama.

Gareth K Vile, The Stage, 09/09/2013

It’s both a classic come to life and an urgent new work which develops its own style and language rather than slavishly imitating the text and it’s all the better for it.

****(*)David Pollock, The Independent, 09/09/2013

The Glaswegian company’s brilliant new Crime and Punishment compresses Dostoyevsky’s magnum opus into a bleak, brooding, compelling evening of theatre.

Mark Brown, Scottish Stage, 10/09/2013

Whilst the staging is at times a little static, the script quietly bubbles with satire and intrigue, moving as sharply as an assailant and providing an accessible insight into one of the most renowned works of all time.

****(*)Scott Purvis, WhatsOnStage.com, 14/09/2013

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.

***(*)(*)Susannah Radford, The Skinny, 16/09/2013

A fluent, beautiful, and profoundly theatrical account of one of the great stories of world literature.

****(*)Joyce McMillan, 10/09/2013

Outstanding in every department – right down to the metatheatrical creation of sound effects and the subtle insertions of 21st-century design – this production (co-produced with Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre and the Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh) marks another milestone in the illustrious history of the Citizens.

Mark Brown, Scottish Stage, 17/09/2013

An exceptionally powerful play, even for those who cannot completely engage with it; the audience's rapturous response will prove you wrong.

***(*)(*)Carole Baldock, WhatsOnStage.com, 04/10/2013

Successfully taking a work which many might have thought impossible to adapt, Crime & Punishment extracts the moral core of the original and thrusts it onstage in a powerful production which shows the timeless relevance of its central conflict.

****(*)Edinburgh Spotlight, 23/10/2013

Not only does this version remind us of the enduring power and influence of the book (not least in the way that the battle of wits between Porfiry and Raskolnikov was the obvious inspiration for Columbo) but it also succeeds brilliantly in its own right.

****(*)Hugh Simpson, All Edinburgh Theatre, 24/10/2013

At some two and a half hours playing time, this production feels (momentarily) as epic as its subject, but even as we step onto the pavement on an autumnally chilly Edinburgh evening, the rewards remain.

*****Bill Dunlop, Edinburgh Guide, 25/10/2013

It’s a supreme team and they play a blinder.

****(*)Anna Burnside, The List, 21/10/2013

That acting company reminded me a lot of a Citz cast of old too, with the excellent Best sparring with George Costigan as his police nemesis Petrovich for the chief honours, but there was real strength throughout the ensemble, including talented people recently out of drama school.

Keith Bruce, The Herald, 25/10/2013

As a stage adaptation that rethinks things from the ground up in convincingly dramatic terms, it’s a spectacular success – as it is equally as a strikingly fresh, bold vision of theatrical possibilities.

****(*)David Kettle, The Edinburgh Reporter, 30/10/2013

A fitting adaptation of a difficult work – and an exploration of the human mind that feels almost Shakespearian. Bold, brutal and beautiful.

****(*)Kirsten Waller, TVBomb, 08/11/2013


Features about Crime and Punishment

Citizens Theatre production of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment

Gareth K Vile, The List, 23/08/2013

Crime and Punishment, or the crime thriller and whodunnit which meets Karl Marx and Jesus Christ

Neil Cooper, The Herald, 29/08/2013

Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment comes to Scotland

Mark Fisher, The Scotsman, 05/09/2013

Crime and Punishment @ Liverpool Playhouse, 1-19 Oct

Kristian Doyle, The Skinny, 30/09/2013

Crime and Punishment

Where and when?

Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow from Thursday September 5, 2013, until Saturday September 28, 2013. More info: www.citz.co.uk

Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh from Tuesday October 22, 2013, until Saturday November 9, 2013. More info: www.lyceum.org.uk

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