The Kreutzer Sonata. Leo Tolstoy

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THE KREUTZER SONATA

      First published in 2009 by Oberon Books Ltd

      This electronic edition published in 2012 by Oberon Books Ltd

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      Reprinted with revisions in 2012

      Adaptation copyright © Nancy Harris 2009

      Nancy Harris is hereby identified as author of this play in accordance with section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The author has asserted her moral rights.

      All rights whatsoever in this play are strictly reserved and application for performance etc. should be made before commencement of rehearsal to Rochelle Stevens & Co, 2 Terretts Place, Upper Street, London N1 1QZ. No performance may be given unless a licence has been obtained, and no alterations may be made in the title or the text of the play without the author’s prior written consent.

      You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-84943-275-7

      EPub ISBN: 978-1-84943-291-7

      Cover photograph: Hilton McRae and Sophie Scott

       Image © Simon Kane

       www.simonkanephotography.co.uk

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      Characters

      POZDYNYSHEV

      DIALOGUE

      ( ) a word or sentence that is not spoken, but conveyed in the playing

      … an unfinished or unarticulated thought

      – a very brief pause or a beat where a thought is being clarified

      A NOTE ON MUSIC

      The Kreutzer Sonata was commissioned to be performed with live musicians. Therefore music and its possible interplay with POZDYNYSHEV’s monologue are suggested throughout the script. He reacts to it, avoids it, perhaps engages with it at various points, which can be discovered in rehearsal. Music, even in its faintest incarnation, triggers memories and thoughts, urging the story forward and helping it unfold. Occasionally, perhaps, it creates space to allow the narrative to land and breathe.