The plot tells of an impoverished drop out Law Student who decides that he could benefit the world by murdering a hated money lender and redistributing her money to do good works. This is the crime that takes place graphically very early in the play, the remainder being the protagonist Rodian (Rodya) Raskolnikov reflecting on his action and the consequences as he interacts with his circle of St Petersburg life. The internal turmoil and struggle of Rodya that make up much of the book are effectively performed as soliloquies in this production. Rodya has a duel personality - he is cold, apathetic and antisocial - almost a socio-path but he can also be compassionate and warm.
The major themes explored are poverty and self sacrifice. Dostoevsky explores the following "isms" in the narrative - utilitarianism, nihilism, socialism, and atheism. The questions that arose for me were on the nature of morality. Why be moral if the world is nothing more than a random collection of molecules with no God or purpose? Do ends ever justify the means? Should laws apply to everyone equally or do some have special provisions? Here I saw an echo of Nietzsche's idea of superman as Rodya compared himself to Napoleon.
Sonya, the young woman who sacrificed herself to prostitution to support her family is the most moral person in the story. Her virtues and qualities make her seem Christlike. Her spontaneous outflow of Christian pity and compassion is in stark contrast to the cold unfeeling response of the rationalist humanist philosophies of utilitarianism and socialism. Towards the end, Sonya gives Rodya a cross and says she will help him carry his burden and they go off to Siberia together but he refuses to look at her, emphasising his total alienation from society.
That evening in the theatre stimulated much thought as the issues Dostoevsky identified in the mid-nineteenth century still have relevance today.
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