This trilogy dramatically portrays the turbulent intellectual and political climate of Russia during the pivotal period spanning the early 1830s to the late 1860s. It follows the lives and ideological struggles of key figures at the heart of the radical opposition movement, particularly around the time of the European revolutions of 1848. The works delve into profound questions of freedom, identity, and the individual's role in society. It offers a compelling exploration of the shaping of the modern Russian intelligentsia.
This play is one of three sequential, self-contained plays which tell the story of some of the main actors in the drama of Russian radical opposition in the years pivoted on the European revolutions of 1848. The trilogy spans the early 1830s and the late 1860s.
and it was here, in the intoxicating anticipation and the dashed hopes of the 1848 revolution - when the loss of his political illusions were overshadowed by a series of personal calamities - that Herzen found his greatness, seeking the way forward for Russia, the just society and the good life.
Set against the backdrop of Tsarist autocracy, this trilogy delves into the lives of influential figures like anarchist Michael Bakunin and writer Ivan Turgenev, who embody the Russian intelligentsia. The narrative weaves themes of politics, love, and betrayal, focusing on Alexander Herzen, the first self-proclaimed socialist in Russia. Stoppard intricately explores the tensions between romantic anarchy, utopian ideals, and the quest for political freedom, capturing the fervor of a generation of revolutionaries striving for change.
The Coast of Utopia is an epic but also intimate drama of romantics and revolutionaries in an age of emperors. The three sequential, self-contained plays, Voyage, Shipwreck and Salvage, span the lives and loves of a group of Russian friends at home and abroad in the tumultuous years between 1833 and 1866.