“Misery” – play after Stephen King, Kellerteater, Tallinn

Misery, by Stephen King and William Goldman.

The writer Paul Sheldon, famous for romantic novels about the noblewoman Misery Chastain, is badly hurt in a car crash during a snowstorm. Annie Wilkes, a former nurse and Sheldon's number one fan, rescues her idol and takes him to her house to recover. When the heroine dies at the end of the next book in the series, Annie is seized by enormous rage and decides the writer must bring Misery back to life. To persuade him she has various methods at hand, such as syringes and a birthday cake.

Stephen King drew his inspiration for Misery from Evelyn Waugh's short story 'The Man Who Loved Dickens', about a man held captive by a South American chieftain who loves Charles Dickens's stories and forces the man to read them aloud. King wondered what would happen if Dickens himself were held captive. The work is a cage the creator walks into of his own accord. Paul Sheldon compares himself to Scheherazade of the Arabian Nights, who puts off her execution by telling the sultan a new story every night.

Translator, director and sound designer: Andres Roosileht. Artist: Marge Martin. Lighting: Rene Topolev.

Cast: Paul Sheldon – Veikko Täär; Annie Wilkes – Liina Vahtrik; Buster – Andres Roosileht.

Duration about 2.5 hours with an interval. The production uses stage shots that are harmless to health but very loud.

Time and place: 26 November 2026, 19:00, Kellerteater, Uus 37, Tallinn.