Last Updated on February 6, 2026
Kyoto’s Chiten Theatre presents a Japanese version of Dostoevsky’s The Gambler
4.0 out of 5.0 stars‘Write what you know’ is a familiar maxim for novelists. Perhaps that was why, when Dostoevsky faced the challenge of writing a novel in 30 days, he wrote The Gambler. He, too, like his protagonist, was addicted to roulette and was no stranger to debt. In fact, the novel writing wager was a high-stakes venture. If he failed, the publishing rights of all his past and future books would pass to his editor, from whom he had previously borrowed money. Dostoevsky’s works began to be translated into Japanese in the late 19th century and have been popular in Japan. Kyoto-based Chiten Theatre has brought a Japanese adaptation of The Gambler to The Coronet Theatre, performed in Japanese with English surtitles.
Theatre audiences attend The Coronet Theatre in Notting Hill knowing that the production will likely be novel or experimental. This performance of The Gambler was quite unlike anything I have seen on stage before. Led by director Motoi Miura, the text was broken down into fragments of Dostoevsky’s story and then woven together in a way that was recognisable to those familiar with the novel but perhaps confusing at times for those who were not.
The story relates the collapse into addiction of a young Russian man, Alexi (Takahide Akimoto), who is tutor to the children of a widowed General (Masaya Kishimoto). He is obsessed with the General’s stepdaughter, Polina (Midori Aioi), who is in some sort of relationship with a rich man, de Grieux (Dai Ishida), who has lent the General money he cannot repay. De Grieux impatiently awaits repayment. The General is, in turn, obsessed with a young French woman, Mlle Blanche (Shie Kubota), who is only interested in him for the money he expects to inherit from the elderly grandmother (Satoko Abe), who is ill. The whole party is based in a German town for the season, where the casino is the centre of their activities. They impatiently await the death of the grandmother who lives in Russia, and daily telegrams are sent to find out if she has died. To everyone’s surprise, she turns up, very much alive, and proceeds to lose a great deal of money at the roulette table.
This production of The Gambler was part theatre, part dance, part musical performance, altogether high octane. It was performed on a brilliant stage set (Itaru Sugiyama) designed to resemble a roulette wheel, with a large table at its centre to which barstools were attached. Rather than the players seated around the roulette wheel, they occupy the space in the middle of it. The cast played musical chairs throughout the performance, swapping places on the chairs on which they writhed, contorted, collapsed in despair, and sometimes took to the rest of the stage to perform stylised movements. The production gave new meaning to theatre in the round, as the table turned almost constantly throughout the 90-minute performance. At times, Alexi pushed the table round and round as if a donkey tethered to a millstone, tied to his fate to repeat his relentless gambling. It also suggests the class divide between Alexi and the aristocratic family that employs him.
Chiten Theatre specialises in performances created from collages of fragments of existing texts, including works by Shakespeare, Chekhov and Brecht. ‘The cadence and rhythm of language are delayed to expose the raw sound of the words, liberated from their meaning.’ This raises a challenge for audiences who do not speak Japanese, as, despite the very good translation (Ikuo Kameyama), much is surely missed without understanding the words themselves. That said, there is plenty in this production to keep the audience engaged. Often, the emotion in the production is displayed through vocalising and movement – in fact, facial expression was generally muted. From the ecstasy of the win to the agony of the losses, obsessive love and desire – all were performed with the body. No doubt, a great deal of the stylised movement derives from Japanese theatrical traditions and is important to understanding the many levels on which this production operates.
The production was an invigorating ensemble performance, highly energetic and electric. Standout performances were the grandmother and Alexi, both of whom were mesmerising in their physicality. When the grandmother is ill, she lies draped across her barstool, as the table keeps turning. Later, when she arrives at the roulette table, she rises slowly from her supine position, and it is as if she has been re-animated. Her performance is a feat of manic craziness, which counterbalances Alexi’s heavy tread as he pushes the table, his addiction growing ever heavier. Addiction is a form of mental illness, and this production at times feels like a psychotic dream sequence.
The Gambler was not only a very demanding physical performance but also one that demanded a level of endurance from the audience. A three-piece pulsing soundscape of experimental rock trio Kukangendai kept up a persistent beat from percussion and bass guitar, while the characters each held a small ball (symbolising the roulette ball) which they banged loudly on the table each time they spoke. Extra sensory stimulation came from the LED chandelier that hung centre stage, itself a kinetic light installation that pulsed throughout the performance, perhaps symbolising the roulette ball’s circular movement. It was a striking example of effective light design (Yasuhiro Fujiwara). Costumes (Colette Huchard) were wonderfully eccentric, with the cast mostly in black, punctuated by pops of emerald green and postbox red. The grandmother wore a fabulous full-length cream dress that clung to her like a funeral shroud.
The Gambler is a production quite unlike any I have seen of the Russian classics, and I wonder what Dostoevsky would have made of it. For contemporary audiences, it is exciting, dynamic and challenging. I am aware that some of the meaning was lost in translation for me, but if you are looking for a creative theatrical experience, it is well worth taking a flutter on The Gambler.
The Gambler runs from 5 – 15 February 2026
The Coronet Theatre, 103 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3LB
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