THE COAST OF UTOPIA consists of three successive plays, each of which is an independent play; VOYAGE, SHIPWRECK, SALVAGE. The trilogy is an epic of romanticists and revolutionaries caught in the fight for political freedom in a Russian imperial era. Set in the middle of 18th century Russia and Europe, the trilogy follow a group of friends who come of age during the regime of Tsar Nikolaj I. Among them is the idealist and the anarchist Michael Bakunin, who later on were to challenge Marx in the fight for the soul of the masses, Ivan Turgenev, author of some of the most important Russian literature; the highly intelligent and brilliant excentric young critic Vissarion Belinsky; and Alexander Herzen, the son of a nobleman and the first person to declare himself a socialist in Russion history. They become the focal points in a drama of politics, love and treachery. The story which involves more than 50 characters is set in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Paris, Nice and London between 1852 and 1864. All three plays were staged at the Royal National Theatre in London this autumn.
