The play “Deep Blue Sea” by Terrence Rattigan was screened in 1955. The film featuring Vivien Leigh made the play famous and since then it's been staged a number of times.

However, hardly any of the theatre productions have lived up to the movie's high standards. Russian director Pavel Safonov has decided to have a try. The play begins with neighbours discovering Hester Collyer after a failed suicide attempt. She's left her husband, a judge from upper-class society, to live with Freddie Page, an ex-fighter pilot.

However, her new relationship with Freddie doesn't work out. He turns to drink and leaves her, while her former husband still wants her back…

But the director, Pavel Safonov, stresses his stage version is something more than another love story. “The action takes place in just one day,” says he. “I wanted to show fundamental changes in characters during such a short period of time…”

The director has never seen the film production, so that he wouldn’t be influenced by it. He says he's trying to base this version solely on the original script.

Finding an actress for the leading was no great problem, but director did face some difficulties looking for someone to impersonate Freddie Page. “The character is rather controversial,” explains Pavel Safonov. “He needs to be child-like and manly at the same time. It's a very rare combination.”

When Terrence Rattigan wrote the play, the subjects of divorce and suicide were far more controversial than they are today. So this production gives an interesting insight into a world of more than half a century ago.