The Storm

THE STORM

DRAMATIS PERSON?

SAVIL PROKOFIEVITCH DIKOY, a merchant, and personage of importance in the town.

BORIS GRIGORIEVITCH, his nephew, a young man of good education.

MARFA IGNATIEVNA KABANOVA, a rich merchant's widow.

TIHON IVANITCH KABANOV, her son.

KATERINA, his wife.

VARVARA, sister of Tihon.

KULIGIN, a man of artisan class, a self-taught watchmaker, engaged in trying to discover the secret of perpetual motion.

VANIA KUDRIASH, a young man, clerk to Dikoy.

SHAPKIN, an artisan.

FEKLUSHA, a pilgrim woman.

GLASHA, a maid servant in the Kabanovs' house.

AN OLD LADY of seventy, half mad, with TWO FOOTMEN.

TOWNSPEOPLE of both sexes.

The action takes place in the town of Kalinov, on the banks of the Volga, in summertime. There is an interval of ten days between the 3rd and 4th acts. All the characters except Boris are dressed in old Russian national dress.

ACT I

SCENE I

A public garden on the steep bank of the Volga; beyond the Volga, a view of the country. On the stage two benches and a few bushes.

KULIGIN (sitting on a bench, looking towards the river).

KUDRIASH and SHAPKIN (walking up and down).

KULIGIN (singing). 'Amidst the level dales, upon a sloping hillside,'… (ceases singing) Wonderful, one really must say it's wonderful! Kudriash! Do you know, I've looked upon the Volga every day these fifty years and I can never get tired of looking upon it.

KUDRIASH.

How's that?

KULIGIN.

It's a marvellous view! Lovely! It sets my heart rejoicing.

KUDRIASH.

It's not bad.

KULIGIN. It's exquisite! And you say 'not bad'! You are tired of it, or you don't feel the beauty there is in nature.

KUDRIASH. Come, there's no use talking to you! You're a genuine antique, we all know, a chemical genius.

KULIGIN.

Mechanical, a self-taught mechanician.

KUDRIASH.

It's all one.

[Silence.

KULIGIN (pointing away).

Look, Kudriash, who's that waving his arms about over there?

KUDRIASH.

There? Oh, that's Dikoy pitching into his nephew.

KULIGIN.

A queer place to do it!

KUDRIASH. All places are alike to him. He's not afraid of any one! Boris Grigoritch is in his clutches now, so he is always bullying him.

SHAPKIN. Yes, you wouldn't find another bully like our worthy Saviol Prokofitch in a hurry! He pulls a man up for nothing at all.

KUDRIASH.

He is a stiff customer.

SHAPKIN.

Old Dame Kabanova's a good hand at that too!

KUDRIASH. Yes, but she at least does it all under pretence of morality; he's like a wild beast broken loose!

SHAPKIN.

There's no one to bring him to his senses, so he rages about as he likes!

KUDRIASH.