Dostoevsky wrote his 1866 novella, The Gambler, in 30 days to pay off his own gambling debts, having wagered the publishing rights of his past and future works on the book’s completion. It’s hard to imagine the frantic toil of such an endeavour. But watching this adaptation from Kyoto-based company, Chiten Theatre, will give you a taster: it is a dizzying, challenging 90 minutes – especially for those not familiar with the plot.
Constructed from fragments of Dostoevsky’s text – which charts the ricocheting financial and romantic fortunes of roulette addict Alexei Ivanovich, and the family he tutors for – it is delivered in Japanese at largely break-neck speed, subtitles vying for attention with a spinning set, kooky dancing and a cast that bang billiard balls on a central table before they speak. The thrashings of onstage rock trio, Kukangendai, adds to the theatrical onslaught.
If you can fight the overwhelm, though, there is much invention to admire. Itaru Sugiyama’s roulette-wheel set, and the cast sat atop it, are kept spinning not by some hidden mechanism but by the increasingly frenzied pushes of an exhausted Alexei – a neat representation of the thrills and drudgery of gambling addiction. Above, a circle of LEDs glow in series, tracking the roulette ball on which so many fates hang.
Director Motoi Miura abandons naturalism for rhythmic dialogue and highly stylised movements. Mostly these emphasise, to chest-tightening effect, the characters’ financial precarity. But there is humour – led by Satoko Abe’s outspoken Grandmother – and shrewd nods to Dostoevsky’s discussions of Russian and European traits, with each character given a signature move and phrase. “HA HA HA!” barks Mademoiselle Blanche, the woman who will marry Alexei’s employer only if his wealthy grandmother dies, her hands moving up and down like weighing scales as she dispassionately deliberates.
The dynamic, seven-strong cast are ably led by Takahide Akimoto, whose ferocious, babbling monologues as Alexei reveal the depths and danger of his obsessions with roulette and his employer’s stepdaughter, Polina.
This production is not for those who enjoy watching a story unfold through its characters’ connections. The cast recount rather than enact much of the plot, and even lines meant for one another are delivered to the audience. But if you’re looking to be immersed in the panicked slog of addiction, then ready your chips.
