Schuld und Sühne (Crime and Punishment) - A Review.

 “Schuld und Sühne” is a German version of “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky which is one of the greatest classic novels of all time.  Though this epic Russian novel was published in 1866, theme makes total relevance to today’s world. If you guys have no idea of what I am talking about and you have some time to watch classics and so please have a look into this series from BBC ( crime and punishment 1) & (crime and punishment 2)

   

The originality of this crime thriller is demonstrated right at the beginning of the play. The protagonist, Raskolnikov gets inspired with an ideology of serving poor people, kills a rich pawnbroker in St. Petersburg. In normal crime thrillers, the secret of who is kept till the end which holds the curiosity of the viewers.  However, Dostoevsky keeps this secret open to the viewers by letting them know it right in the opening scene. But he creates a gripping psychological drama which gradually unfolds in multiple layers. The shift of bull’s eye from “Who did the crime” to questions like “Why did he do it?”, “Will he be caught?”, and “What will happen to the other main characters?” makes this “theaterstuck” (drama piece) “Schuld und Sühne” stand apart from other Psychological crime thrillers.

What really stands out in Crime and Punishment is the depth of human psychology that Dostoevsky taps from his characters along the plot.  The characters are not purely divided into good and bad. He just leaves the centre point of judgement “who” and shifts it to all other human aspects of the crime. This goes deep into discovering why they are so? and what was the reason for their behaviour? He even explores their motivations, desires, and fears.  He even probes their subconscious thoughts through dreams. The tension reaches the highest pitch when Raskolnikov meets the detective Porifory who is Aunt of his close friend Razumikhin. They both engage in serious psychological battel of proving each other’s point.

The only issue with this drama is long and difficult names for viewers. This is confusing initially. Even if you don’t remember the characters you will ultimately know who is what at least by their appearance and dialogue. I believe that is enough to have a brief idea of what is going on.

Since I am writing the review after all the shows are over, that to in English for German readers, I don’t think it would be a crime if I discuss the plot in brief. Raskolnikov, a conflicted former student refuses all help from his close pals devises a plan to murder and rob an elderly pawn-broker Alyona Ivanovna. He makes an acquaintance of Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov, a drunkard who recently squandered his family's little wealth. Raskolnikov is informed of his sister and mother coming visit him to discuss his sister's sudden marriage plans.

After the murder, Raskolnikov turns sick obsessed with murder. He sees Marmeladov, who has been struck mortally by a carriage in the streets. Rushing to help him, Raskolnikov gives the remainder of his money to the man's family, which includes his wife Katharinas and his teenage daughter, Sonya, who has been forced to become a prostitute to support her family.

In the meantime, Raskolnikov's mother, Pulkheria Alexandrovna, and is sister, Avdotya Romanovna (or Dunya), arrive to St. Petersburg. Mortified, Dunya fled the Svidrigaïlov family and lost her source of income, only to meet Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin, a man of modest income and rank. Luzhin proposes to marry Dunya, thereby securing her and her mother's financial safety, provided she accept him quickly and without question. It is for these very reasons that the two of them come to Saint Petersburg.

As the play progresses, Raskolnikov is introduced to the detective Porfiry, who begins to suspect him of the murder purely on psychological grounds. At the same time, a chaste relationship develops between Raskolnikov and Sonya. Sonya, though a prostitute, is full of Christian virtue and is only driven into the profession by her family's poverty.

As Raskolnikov and Porfiry continue to meet, Raskolnikov's nerves continue to wear thinner, and he is constantly struggling with the idea of confessing, though he knows that he can never be truly convicted. He turns to Sonya for support and confesses his crime to her.

Raskolnikov is at this point completely torn; he is urged by Sonya to confess. Furthermore, Porfiry confronts Raskolnikov with his suspicions and assures him that confession would substantially lighten his sentence. Meanwhile, Svidrigaïlov attempts to seduce Dunya, but when he realizes that she will never love him, he lets her go. He then spends a night in confusion and in the morning shoots himself. This same morning, Raskolnikov goes again to Sonya, who again urges him to confess and to clear his conscience. The epilogue tells of how Raskolnikov confesses his crime and was sentenced punishment.

It was a clear portrayal of masterpiece of art that is being taken out from characters. Especially the protagonist (Fritzsche Sven)  and the character of detective (Anke Seifert) who were the two main pillars of the casting have done justice to what that was being expected from them. The characters and their attire perfectly describe the social setup of 19^th century where the play takes place. Apart from the main characters the art of taking out acting from the supporting characters who played Sonya(Cora Ungeheure), Petrovich Luzhin(Eliot Schroeder), Katherina(Mareike Heuer), Razumikhin(Andreas Ehlert) is very artistically crafted from the directors Laura Buendgen and Akram Idrissi. The art of setting up the next scenes and managing transition were appreciable. Lighting and props were up to mark. Good job Niklas Radbruch(technical director)

The most important part of the play which is not given a much of time in the play is the climax where he confesses his crime giving away his false idea of serving poor by committing a crime.  I feel this is the most transforming moment for anyone to believe that his ideas were wrong. Because we as humans believe in Inertia and always resist change in one’s character. Most of the time the resistance comes from the inside even when the whole world stands against you. But by making Raskolnikov confess his crime Fyodor Dostoevsky gives a very valuable message to the viewers.

- Sid