In a theatrical version by Beka Savić
Without a doubt, Dostoevsky's Prince Myshkin is one of the most impressive inventions in literary history. To call him an "idiot" is admittedly a nasty punch line, for Dostoevsky was actually concerned with portraying an "absolutely beautiful man"where the author was certain that there was "only one absolutely beautiful figure in the world"namely Jesus Christ. Myshkin, this modern Christ figure, becomes an idiot through the people surrounding him, who know nothing but vanity, possessiveness, and high-minded passions. The Prince is an antithesis to them, whereby he does not condemn Russian society, which he finds on his return from a Swiss sanatorium, but confronts it from the bottom up with his own sensitivity and empathy. For his surroundings, on the other hand, Myschkin's not being able to be wrong is so inconceivable that they suspect a deeper intrigue in it or simply declare the prince mad.
Dostoevsky's novels have proved highly suitable for the theatre in recent years, and quite a few directors, from Andrea Breth to Frank Castorf, have taken them on. In Wiesbaden - a Dostoevsky city in its own right thanks to the poet's casino stays - Beka Savić will now present a new stage version of "Idiot".
Source and further information: http://www.staatstheater-wiesbaden.en/program/schedule/2019-04/the-idiot-2018-2019/4630/
