Maydays. Part 2: Kronstadt
David Edgar's epic political drama turns its gaze towards the Soviet Union. Pavel Lermontov, a young army officer posted to Hungary in 1956, must face some challenging truths.
David Edgar's landmark political drama continues. We leave British journalist and Socialist Vanguard leading light Martin Glass campaigning for the release of his activist friend in 1972, as we head back to 1956, to find a young Soviet army officer grappling with his conscience in a Hungary rebelling against communist rule.
Martin Glass ..... Mark Quartley
Jeremy Crowther ..... Geoffrey Streatfeild
Pavel Lermontov ..... Simon Scardifield
Amanda ..... Ellie Kendrick
Clara Ivanovna/Judy ..... Ruth Everett
Mrs Glass ..... Jane Slavin
Miklos Paloczi ..... Adrian Klein
Tanya ..... Ria Marshall
James Grain ..... Jonathan Forbes
Korolenko ..... Lloyd Thomas
Phil Mandrell ..... Colin Ryan
Pugachev/Newsreader ..... Roger Ringrose
Skuratov ..... David Hounslow
Sound Design by Peter Ringrose
Directed by Toby Swift
A Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Audio Production for Radio 4
Maydays was originally produced on stage by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican Theatre in London in 1983, directed by Ron Daniels. The play was revived in a new version at the Other Place in Stratford in 2018, directed by Owen Horsley.
David Edgar wrote a solo show, Trying it On, which reveals the autobiographical background to Maydays. First seen on stage in 2018 in an engagingly honest performance by its author, it was then reversioned for Radio 4 and recorded in front of an audience at the Radio Theatre in London Broadcasting House in 2019. You can hear that again on Radio 4 on 4th March 2023 and then on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Sounds.