Shotgun Players

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Ran March 2 - April 10, 2005

Is terrorism ever justifiable?
What if that ruler or regime is deemed to be truly evil?

Beth Donohue is
Dora Doulabov
in The Just

Click for hi-res

In a small apartment overlooking a street where the Grand Duke will pass on his way to the theater, a group of Russian revolutionaries stand at grim attention, waiting to end his life in the name of justice. In a severe and passionate examination of a factual assassination during the 1905 Russian Revolution, Camus dramatizes the minds of men and women more than willing to die for their cause. He finds unexpected nobility and chilling detachment in the behavior of these desperate seekers after justice shapes their actions into the form of a classic tragedy. The Just previews on Tuesday, March 1st and Wednesday, March 2nd, Opens Thursday, March 3rd and runs Thursday - Sunday at 8pm until April 10th, at The Ashby Stage in Berkeley.

One month after Bloody Sunday, on a cold February afternoon in Moscow, the Grand Duke Sergei is blown apart by a pipe bomb thrown by Ivan Kaliayev, a member of a self-proclaimed terrorist organization called The Social Revolutionaries. The Grand Duke, with his gilded carriage, curled mustache and heavily decorated chest symbolized all the repulsive wealth and autocracy that they reviled. Camus dramatizes the philosophical underpinnings of this gruesome event in order to explore the personal and political motivations that explain how someone might be driven to the point of suicidal terrorism.

In our present position as a country whose military dominance directs world action and cultivates world defiance, these themes are still alarmingly resonant.

Shotgun Players production of The Just will be directed by Artistic Director Patrick Dooley. The cast features Shotgun company members Beth Donohue (Dog Act, Vampires, Medea), John Thomas (Caucasian Chalk Circle, Mother Courage, Water Principle), Cassidy Brown (Death of Meyerhold), Taylor Valentine (Quills), Eric Burns (The Miser, Dog Act) John Nahigian, Ryan O’Donnell, and Michele Shoshani. Alf Pollard will design the set, Jared Hirsch will design the lighting, Christine Crook will design costumes and Chris Paulina will design sound.

REVIEWS

SF Chronicle
Tense voyage into minds of terrorists
"It's an act of some courage -- political as well as artistic -- to stage a play that puts terrorists in a positive light in these times."

• SF Gate
"Outstanding Cast and Impeccable Direction"

• Oakland Tribune
"A tense drama"

• Marin Independent Journal
"Welcome addition to national dialogue"

• Mills College Weekly
"Production that succeeds with sharp, resonating motives"

• Berkeley Daily Planet
"Ambitious"

• Talkin' Broadway (website)
"Dazzling Ensemble"

CAST
Beth Donohue	Dora
Cassidy Brown	Annenkov
Eric Burns	Foka
John Nahigian	Stepan
John Thomas	Skouratov
Michele Shoshani	The Grand Duchess
Ryan O'Donnell	Voinov
Steve Band	The Guard
Taylor Valentine	Yanek

CREW
Aedrey Grey	Dramaturg, Lobby
Alf Pollard	Set Design
Chris Paulina	Sound Design
Christine Crook	Costume Design
Jared Hirsch	Light Design
John Malmquist	Graphic Design
Liz Lisle	Production Manager
Mary Guzmán	Assistant Director
Patrick Dooley	Director
Tom Flynn	Stage Manager