Afternoon Play - The Target Audience

Glitz and glamour are the trademarks of a hugely successful TV show where Russia's famous, powerful and rich are interviewed by a trio of canny and beautiful young women. But tonight's guest, Yuri Tseitlin, is faced with a dilemma whereby his oil empire may just slip out of his fingers. Before he deals with his offscreen problems he has some tough questions to answer. The three interviewers - a young model from the provinces, a political journalist and a businesswoman - are all driven by the cruelly aspirational culture around them. They are beginning to enjoy the influence and the recognition that TV offers them. They were voted into the job by an audience of viewers whose own lives are forever excluded from the sparkle of Moscow's media, fashion and business worlds. But each of these young women has her own agenda in the interview with Mr Tseitlin. In the last of our plays in the 'Russia Actualnyi' series, we get a frontline take on the world of Russian business as it collides with other more powerful interests. Writer Igor Simonov has run a number of businesses - he knows and understands the unspoken rules of commerce and politics in Russia today. The play has been staged in Moscow's Praktika theatre, a powerhouse of new drama, where it received critical and popular acclaim. Yuri Tseitlin ... Yasen Peyankov Nastya ... Anne Bobby Katya ... Angelique Doudnikova Director ... Michael Levi Harris Vadim ... Stass Klassen Alexei ... Moti Margolin Announcer ... Doug Shapiro Michael ... Peter Von Berg Marina ... Tatyana Zbirovskaya All other parts were played by members of the cast. Technical production by Scott Lehrer, Grammy winner and Tony winner for Broadway. Music specially composed by Gene Pritzker. Consultant: Noah Birksted-Breen of Sputnik Theatre. Director: Judith Kampfner. A Waters Company Production for BBC Radio 4.