Dead Souls – Etcetera Theatre
The Eno River Players bring Mikhail Bulgakov’s (author of The Master and Margarita) Dead Souls to life, with a swirling sense of adventure. The cast of three tumble through the plot in a stylistically haphazard way, presenting the 19th century Russian story. Chichikov, the protagonist, embarks on a “get rich quick” scheme, scouring the land for “dead souls”, collecting the rights to dead people. On his journey, he meets a host of strange characters that lead him from one place to another.
The set is full of random props, domineered by a central painting of the Russian leader, changing with the time. The bustle as they set up between scenes was rhythmic and characterised and gave the bohemian feel of a travelling troupe, but I think using slightly fewer props would have made the spac...