The Idiots Karamazov

A zany literary cabaret! What would you expect to play in repertory with Ivanov—another esteemed Russian classic? Not quite. When Constance Garnett translates Dostoevsky, the Brothers Karamazov become expert plumbers and Anaïs Nin has Mary Tyrone over for eggshell and mayonnaise sandwiches. Confused? Then you’d better take a course with Professors Durang and Innaurato, who’ll puree the whole Western canon before your very eyes. The Idiots Karamazov is a zany literary cabaret that makes Cliff Notes look like high scholarship. You’ll be amazed at how many characters are skewered on this wild, irreverent sword.

SYNOPSIS

Constance Garnett, the doddering British translatrix of the Russian classics, is embarking on her translation of The Brothers Karamazov. Her failing memory and obstinate self-regard make the process difficult, and soon the Russian brothers are joined by a host of characters, literary and real, who can scarcely tell their troikas from their samovars. Soon Mary Tyrone is rubbing shoulders with Anaïs Nin at a monstrous tea party where sexual conventions are abandoned and the politics are revolutionary. The Karamazovs are a mighty clan, but can even they survive the coup de plume when Constance drops her authorial guard and enters the fray herself?