Granny (based on the novel The Gambler)

“The Gambler” is Dostoevsky’s third novel in order. It was preceded by the famous “The Insulted and Humiliated” and “Poor Folk.” The novel was published in the momentous year 1866. That same year, the legendary “Crime and Punishment” began appearing in the pages of the journal “The Russian Messenger.”

“The Gambler” is called “a story of ordinary madness,” “a story of gambling,” “a work cruel to brutality,” “a novel about the idea of passion”—and about a hero who is devoured by an idea. The author tells about a young man’s gambling addiction, analyzing the factors that led him to the roulette. Dostoevsky knew this problem firsthand—because “The Gambler” was inspired by his own bitter example.

Characters and performers:

Grandmother — Faina Ranevskaya;
Aleksey Ivanovich — Oleg Tabakov;
General — Mikhail Yanshin;
Polina — Alla Pokrovskaya;
de Grieux — Anatoly Ktorov;
Mr. Astley — Igor Kvasha;
Mademoiselle Blanche — Nadezhda Nechaeva;
dealer (croupier) — Sergey Kuzmichev;
Potapyich — Konstantin Bortashevich.

Director — Nina Sukhotskaya.