Holy Fool description
Holy Fool cranks up the tension as the composer Shostakovich navigates Stalin's soviet regime.
As the Soviet Union's leader from the 1920s until 1953, Joseph Stalin transformed his nation into a global superpower via industrialisation and collectivisation, ruling with a brutality that caused millions of deaths. Holy Fool is a tense new drama about the famous Soviet classical composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who was forced to navigate Stalin's terrifying regime or be killed.
In the ultimate balancing act, the plot explores Dmitri Shostakovich's life as his country experiences paralysing fear, frightening censorship and savage political oppression. As the horror closes in on him he is trapped between public loyalty and private rebellion. Will he compromise his own beliefs to survive and if so, how far will he go?
As political pressure mounts, Shostakovich is forced to balance survival with his own deeply-held creative integrity. He does it by hiding subtle acts of resistance within his beautiful music, concealing his rebellion beneath an obedient outer shell. The result is a dark, witty, and highly charged exploration of tyranny, creativity, and the risk of speaking out.
The drama is written by Rosalind Adler and Lea Sellers. Adler is an accomplished writer and screenwriter, Sellers is a playwright and television consultant, both involved in creating various popular television and film roles. Direction comes from Kate Fahy, whose directorial debut was Oliver Cotton's 2010 play Wet Weather Cover. She has also directed Park Theatre's Little Black Book and Rosenbaum's Rescue, known for building depth and complexity, and for inspiring compelling performances.
Shostakovich's music made his reputation, but it could also have killed him. Buy Holy Fool tickets to experience the horrors of a terrifying real-life regime for yourself.
