Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s classic novel, will be staged this autumn at the Liverpool Playhouse with George Costigan as detective Porfiry whose suspicions about a double murder lead him to play’s main protagonist, student Raskolnikov, played by Adam Best. This new adaptation by Chris Hannan is directed by Glasgow Citizens Theatre Artistic Director Dominic Hill and will be at the Playhouse from Tuesday 1st to Saturday 19th October.

George Costigan, who was a member of the of The Everyman Theatre company from 1974 to 1982, returns to the Liverpool stage for the first time since The Odd Couple at the Playhouse in 2005. Mr. Costigan is renowned for his roles on stage and screen, as the original Mickey Johnstone in Blood Brothers when it premiered at the Playhouse in 1983 and film roles such as Shirley Valentine, Rita, Sue and Bob Too, and Calendar Girls. On television he has appeared in Emmerdale and Doctor Who, while his recent stage credits include King Lear (Citizens Theatre) and Death of a Salesman (York Theatre Royal). Adam Best has been a regular cast member in Holby City and his stage credits include The Woman in Black (Fortune Theatre) and Public Enemy (Young Vic).

A psychological thriller conceived during Dostoyevsky’s Siberian prison term, Crime and Punishment gets inside the mind of starving, destitute student Raskolnikov who commits a brutal double murder. Plagued by guilt and the local magistrate, Raskolnikov’s redemption is offered in the form of Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute.

Dominic Hill’s raw new production will bring this classic story to life for audiences, drawing inspiration from Hill’s own experience working in a raucous Russian theatre. The intimacy and intensity of the rehearsal room where storytelling is honed and refined will be exposed on stage, punctuated by moments of high drama.

Hill said, “Crime and Punishment is one of the greatest novels ever written and I’ve always felt that the theatrical characters and gripping plot would make for an exciting stage show. The novel is rarely adapted for the stage and Chris Hannan’s new version will make it fresh and accessible to those who are devoted fans as well as those who never made it cover to cover.”

Speaking about the collaboration between the theatres, Hill added, “Glasgow and Liverpool share so much common ground: the industrial heritage, social history and recent cultural regeneration of both cities and the shared roots and vision between the Citizens and Everyman and Playhouse make us ideal partners to tell this story that pushes against the natural order of society.”

The ensemble cast is completed by Mabel Clements (A Doll’s House, Young Vic), Amiera Darwish (Glasgow Girls, National Theatre of Scotland), Chris Donald (Citizens Theatre Actor Intern), Cate Hamer (The Heretic, Library Theatre), Jessica Hardwick (Citizens Theatre Actor Intern), John Paul Hurley (Shameless, Channel 4), Jack Lord (Wind in The Willows, West Yorkshire Playhouse) and Obioma Ugoala (The Mouse and His Child, RSC).

This new production reunites the award-winning creative team behind The Three Musketeers and the Princess of Spain. Three Musketeers designer Colin Richmond and lighting designer Chris Davey depict the stark harshness of a world of grinding poverty and callous injustices, with music by Macedonian composer Nikola Kodjabashia performed live on stage.

Tickets for Crime and Punishment are priced from £12 to £23. Tickets are available to purchase from the Playhouse Box office on 0151 7094776, online at www.everymanplayhouse.com or at the Playhouse Theatre on Williamson Square.

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