Crime and Punishment

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.

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Crime and Punishment

Choreography, Co-Direction, and Treatment by Helen Pickett
Direction and Treatment by James Bonas
Music by Isobel Waller-Bridge
Sets and Costumes by Soutra Gilmour
Lighting by Jennifer Tipton
Video Design by Tal Yarden
Assistant to the Choreographer: Sarah Hillmer
Assistant Costume Designer: Caitlin Rain

Running Time: 123 minutes

Written in 1866 by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment is a devastatingly modern psychological thriller that provided Helen Pickett and James Bonas with a startling source for a ballet. The protagonist Raskolnikov is, at once, a brilliant student forced to stop his studies due to brutal poverty, a person capable of great warmth and generosity, a loyal family member and friend, and an appalling murderer. These contradictions are so real and so vivid that this young man’s journey towards redemption has captured readers for over 150 years.

The powerful physicality of Raskolnikov’s life, the web of relationships and drama that surround him, and the profound humanity that Dostoyevsky discovers all speak to today’s world and beg to be explored in dance. Choreographer, co-director, and treatment writer Helen Pickett, alongside director and treatment writer James Bonas, brings Raskolnikov’s story to life in this striking new ballet, featuring music by Isobel Waller-Bridge, sets and costumes by Soutra Gilmour, lighting design by Jennifer Tipton, and video design by Tal Yarden.

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