Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881), noted for such works as “Crime and Punishment” and “The Brothers Karamazov,” suffered from epilepsy and severe depression. This knowledge should come as no surprise to his readers and to theatergoers who see Bill Camp and Robert Woodruff’s adaptation of Dostoevsky’s 1964 novella “Notes from Underground” produced at La Jolla Playhouse through Oct. 17. It is a Yale Repertory Theatre production based on a translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volohonsky’s. Woodruff, a noted avant-garde director, stages the challenging piece. He is remembered by Playhouse enthusiasts most indelibly for Bertolt Brecht’s “A Man’s a Man” in 1985, but also for his staging of Odon von Horvath’s “Figaro Gets a Divorce” in 1986, William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” in 1987, and Samuel Beckett’s “Happy Days” in 1997. He also co-conceived and staged “Le Petomane — A Comedy of Airs” for the physical comedy troupe The Flying Karamazov Brothers in 1992. Camp may be remembered for his 1998 Playhouse appearance in “Nora.” “Notes from Underground” is very nearly a one-person show, despite the collaboration of musician actors Merritt Janson and Michael Attias, who also composed the eerie, compelling score. The production is enhanced by the projection design of Peter Nigrini and the lighting design of Mark Barton. Scenic designer David Zinn created the play’s squalid apartment, which is covered with snow. The script concerns a recluse who refers to himself only as Man. He embarks on a stream-of-consciousness recollection of a time soon after he resigned his government job and began to write and thoroughly examine the contents of his navel. “I am a sick man,” he begins. “I am a wicked man. An unattractive man. I think my liver hurts.” The introspective style and social observations put one in mind of Wallace Shawn’s “The Fever” and also the work of August Strindberg. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said, “Poetry is born from the torment of the soul” — and Man’s soul and liver are tormented. Man recounts his miserable attempts to connect with former classmates and coworkers; his visit to the brothel; his insincere offer to help Liza, the prostitute, to escape the life; and his torment when he realizes she may indeed turn up at his apartment. She does, and the ensuing scenes are brutal and heartbreaking. We’ve all known tormented souls like Man, obsessively self-involved and unable, like he, to shovel the snow from their underground. The situation and the play may not be for everyone, but Camp’s performance is. He is absolutely riveting. It’s a towering performance that should not be missed by lovers of Russian literature and those fascinated with the workings of the human mind as it descends to madness. It is courageous, bracing theater at a time when most prefer merely to be entertained. “Notes from Underground” Through Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. — Tuesdays-Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; and 7 p.m. Sundays; with 2 p.m. matinees Saturdays and Sundays • Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive • $31-$66 (858) 550-1010. www.lajollaplayhouse.org
