“Demons” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Nihilists and prophets, terrorists and revolutionaries, assassins and people committing suicide swarm the Onassis Stegi. The vast fictional material of the “Demons” (1870–72) is adapted for the theatre by Russian director Konstantin Bogomolov (b. 1975), marking the first time Onassis Stegi has invited a foreign director to work with Greek actors.

The choice is no coincidence. Bogomolov was introduced to the Greek public with the five-hour adaptation of “The Brothers Karamazov” at Onassis Stegi, which was enthusiastically received by both critics and the public. The production transported Dostoyevsky’s emblematic novel from the late nineteenth century to the salons of contemporary Russian oligarchs. It was characteristic of his sharp satire and his importance as an artist.

The innovative Russian director returns to Onassis Stegi yet again with Dostoyevsky. With his Greek team, Bogomolov will transport us to the dark universe of Stavrogin, Verkhovensky, and the rest of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s antiheroes. A polyphonic work of a borderline character, a political libel, and at the same time a philosophical novel of a confessional and sarcastic nature, the “Demons” focus on the activities of a cycle of young nihilists.

‘Dark instincts and ancient demons are unleashed from the innermost depths of our existence, and come to mislead us. Are these demons though our new gods, speaking of a new truth? Where will the search of a new truth lead us, to a new redemption or to a new version of fascism?’

The “Demons” were never more contemporary, ‘Greek’, ‘Russian’, or universal.