The Coast of Utopia

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The Coast of Utopia is a 2002 trilogy of plays by Tom Stoppard, focused on the philosophical debates in pre-revolutionary Russia between 1833 and 1866. The plays are entitled Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage, and the entire trilogy totals nine hours in length. The trilogy was performed in repertory at the Royal National Theatre in London to full houses and received critical praise; however, revivals are likely to be infrequent due to the enormous cast and immense technical resources required.

The trilogy recently had its American premiere, directed by Jack O'Brien at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in Lincoln Center, New York City, where it will play until May 13, 2007. The cast includes Tony Award winners Brían F. O'Byrne, Richard Easton, and Jennifer Ehle along with Billy Crudup, Ethan Hawke, Josh Hamilton, Martha Plimpton, David Harbour, Jason Butler Harner and Amy Irving.

The trilogy is also to be performed in Russia, according to The Economist magazine: it will open at Moscow's National Youth Theatre in early 2007.

[edit] Cast and roles

Many of the principal actors play different roles in each of the three plays. This table indicates the roles played by the main actors in both the original London production and the forthcoming New York production.

Actor in London, 2002	Actor in New York, 2006	Voyage	Shipwreck	Salvage
Stephen Dillane	Brían F. O'Byrne	Alexander Herzen	Alexander Herzen	Alexander Herzen
Eve Best	Jennifer Ehle	Liubov Bakunin	Natalie Herzen	Malwida von Meysenbug
Will Keen	Billy Crudup	Vissarion Belinsky	Vissarion Belinsky
Guy Henry	Jason Butler Harner	Ivan Turgenev	Ivan Turgenev	Ivan Turgenev
Douglas Henshall	Ethan Hawke	Mikhail Bakunin	Mikhail Bakunin	Mikhail Bakunin
John Carlisle	Richard Easton	Alexander Bakunin	Leonty Ibayev	Stanislaw Worcell
Charlotte Emerson	Martha Plimpton	Varenka Bakunin	Natasha Tuchkov	Natasha Ogarev

[edit] External links

• Overview
• Bringing Home the Revolution
• The Coast of Utopia official Lincoln Center Theater site
• Broadway Theatre Guide
• Reading list for The Coast of Utopia

The Plays of Tom Stoppard

15-Minute Hamlet, After Magritte, Arcadia, Cahoot's Macbeth, The Coast of Utopia, Dalliance, Dirty Linen and New-Found-Land, Dogg's Hamlet, Enter a Free Man, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Hapgood, Indian Ink, The Invention of Love, Jumpers, Night and Day, On the Razzle, Professional Foul, The Real Inspector Hound, The Real Thing, Rock 'n' Roll, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Rough Crossing, Travesties, Undiscovered Country