The Lower Depths

Bristol School of Acting's graduating students stage Gorky's 1902 play about poverty, illusion and survival in an epic ensemble production.

Bristol School of Acting presents Gorky's 1902 masterpiece The Lower Depths, performed by its graduating students in an epic ensemble production directed by Aaron Parsons. Set in a lodging house locked away from the sun, the play follows thieves, fallen aristocrats and weary dreamers whose fragile hope is stirred by a mysterious pilgrim spinning tales of a better world. Drawing on Gorky's own experience of homelessness in pre-revolutionary Russia, the production explores human illusion, poverty and the determination to survive. The running time is 2 hours 20 minutes including an interval, recommended for ages 12+, with content warnings for death, suicide, sexual language and violence.