The Suicide

A brilliant and penetrating satire about an unemployed man who contemplates suicide and is besieged by spokespeople of discontented groups, from butchers to intellectuals, who want him to turn his suicide into a gesture on their behalf

Erdman's genius was recognized by his contemporaries including Brecht, Stanislavsky and Meyerhold. The latter two competed to do The Suicide. Stalin gave permission to present the play only after Gorki pleaded with him, but it was not allowed to open following a year of rehearsal. It was recently staged in Moscow for the first time

"A masterpiece.... Lights up the sky" ~ Guardian

"The best play in the Soviet repertory" ~ Nadezdha Mandelstam