A DRESSING ROOM, two makeup stations and two mirrors. A selection of wigs and dresses. A pair of actors-a man and a woman-enter and sit on stools, facing the audience. They speak in their normal voices, without accents or costumes. All that will come later. For now, they stick to the facts. "At the end of May 1999, Raisa Maksimovna accompanied her husband to Australia," the woman begins. "Gorbachev admitted that the return flight was long and difficult," the man continues, "and he still can't help the thought that it gave a jolt to a process that had already started…" The process was leukaemia. That July, the actors explain, Raisa Gorbachev went to Germany for treatment. Mikhail was at her side, holding her, talking to her and watching her die. The ward had to be kept sterile and Mr Gorbachev robed in full protective gear. To be able to see and hear him, Raisa refused morphine; one night, to dis- tract her from the insufferable pain, he cradled her in his arms as they told each other stories from their half-century together.
展开▼
