Shipwreck

First reading of Shipwreck, the second play in Tom Stoppard's trilogy the Coast of Utopia

Alexander and Natalie Herzen (Stephan Dillane and Eve Best)
at the the National Theatre production in 2002

Today I read Shipwreck, the second play in Tom Stoppard 's trilogy The Coast of Utopia . I commented on Voyage, the first play, a week or so ago. Like Voyage, Shipwreck is about the Russian intelligentsia. but this time it centers around Alexander Herzen and his wife, Natalie. After Herzen gets a visa to travel to Paris to obtain help for his child Kolya, who is deaf, Herzen becomes deeply involved with the Russian expatriate community. Michael Bakunin , the major figure of Voyage is a supporting character here. Bakunin's desire to have a revolution now and worry about the ideals later is contrasted with the more sympathetic Herzen, who worries about the real consequences of revolution. Stoppard does his usual brilliant juxtaposition of ideas by having these very serious socialists constantly squabbly amongst themselves. Natalie falls in love with George Herweigh while still in love with Herzen, and it is interesting to watch these idealists, intent on mutual ownership of property, trying to cope with their jealousy. The French revolt in 1848, while they are in Paris, but the middle classes make sure that property rights stay untouched. By the end of the play, Herzen is disillusioned - he has lost his wife and child, France has reverted to monarchy, and he wonders if Russia's very backwardness in not having developed a bourgeoisie will make its revolution purer than France's.
Stoppard successfully mingles the grand historical sweep with real, human problems. The ideas are clear - many historical figures make an appearance, including Ivan Turgenev and Karl Marx.
Either this was easier to follow, or having read the first one made it easier. If this one followed another plays plot, it was not obvious to me. I found a bibliography of links, that I found at The Complete Review , which follows:

Shipwreck:

• Faber publicity page

• Grove publicity page

• National Theatre production

• The Forgotten Revolutionary - Tom Stoppard previews his new trilogy in The Observer

• Interview in the Daily Telegraph
Reviews:

• Aisle Say

• American Theatre

• The Atlantic Monthly

• BBC Newsnight

• The British Theatre Guide

• CurtainUp

• Daily Telegraph