Theatre du Pif The Overcoat Cultural Centre Studio Theatre Ends today Produced by Theatre du Pif with Stella Kao as literary adviser, The Overcoat was inspired by works from great Russian writers, including Gogol, Dostoevsky and Pushkin. The production unmasks the tragedy of an ordinary man living in a big, cold city.
The production is made up of images and sketches from Russian literature, forming a montage of alienated city life.
The most developed and the most successful was The Underground Man, the title role being played by Jacob Chan. The life-long ambition of this ordinary man was not to make way for an officer while he was walking down the road.
Following 20 years of failures and aborted attempts, he finally stands his ground. The power of the story lies in the dark humour which makes the tragedy even more poignant.
Another scene dramatises Gogol's The Overcoat. The story is about Akaky, a simple clerk, whose life is consumed by a boring copying job. His tragedy is highlighted when he is robbed of his beautiful overcoat.
He comes face-to-face with the cruel facts of life when he fights to get it back, the first time in his life he stands up for his rights. The confrontation with power and bureaucracy is movingly portrayed by Sean Curran and Victor Pang.