Prince Edward Theatre, London
CHESS Concept Album cover
The Musical By: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Tim Rice
3 Knights Ltd., The Shubert Organisation, Robert Fox, Ltd. for Chess
Productions Ltd.
Previews began: 05, May 1986 (delayed from 30, April 1986, due to
technical difficulties)
Opened: 14 May, 1986 - Closed: 08, April 1989
The Cast:
- Elaine Paige - Florence Vassy
- Tommy Körberg - Anatoly Sergievsky
- Murray Head - Freddie Trumper
- John Turner - Alexander Molokov
- Kevin Colson -Walter De Courcey
- Siobhan McCarthy - Svetlana Sergievsky
- Tom Jobe - The Arbiter
The Company:
Aliki, Leo Andrew, Julie Armstrong, Yvonne Bachem, Julia Birch, Richard
Courtice, Catherine Coffey, Anne Cox, Hugh Craig, Geoffrey Dallamore, Carol
Duffy, Garrick Forbes, Wayne Fowkes, Philip Griffith, Peter Karrie, Donna King,
Madeline Loftin, Patrick Long, Kim Lonsdale, Richard Lyndon, Richard Mitchell,
Gail Mortley, Kerri Murphy, Mhairi Nelson, Anita Pashley, William Pool, Jane
Powell, Grainne Rennihan, Richard Sampson, Jacqui Scott, Duncan Smith, Sandy
Strallen, Suzanne Thomas, Sally Ann Triplett, Oke Wambu, Hilary Western, Paul
Wilson
The Creative Team:
- Director - Trevor Nunn
- Scenic Design - Robin Wagner
- Costume Design - Theoni V. Aldredge
- Lighting Design - David Hersey
- Sound Design - Andrew Bruce
- Executive Producers: Judy Craymer, Gatchell & Neufeld Ltd.
- Orchestrations and Arrangements: Anders Eljas
- Choreography: Molly Molloy Musical Direction: John Owen Edwards
Plot Synopsis
Act 1
The head of the International Federation explains
the history of the game of chess, as we move to the
northern Italian town of Merano, where this year's
championships are taking place. As the townsfolk
prepare for the occasion, the brash American
champion, Frederick Trumper arrives with his second,
Hungarian orphan Florence Vassy. In their hotel
room, Florence explains to Freddie that the press
will portray him badly if he continues with his bad
boy attitude, just before he heads off to a press
conference where he attacks a journalist who
questions his relationship with Miss Vassy. His
Russian challenger, Anatoly Sergievsky, and
Alexander Molokov, his second (actually a
KGB agent), watch
with curiosity and disdain on TV, before Anatoly laments as to how he has got to
where he has.
The opening ceremony features an arbiter insisting on holding the proceedings
together, US and Soviet diplomats vowing their side will win, and marketers just
looking to make a buck. During the chess match, Freddie believes that the
Russians are tampering with the game and storms off, leaving the chessboard on
the floor, and Florence to pick up the pieces with Anatoly, Molokov, and the
Arbiter, whereby she agrees to bring Freddie and Anatoly together to sort out
their issues. It turns out that Freddie engineered the stunt to get a higher
price from the TV company; when Florence finds out, they argue, leading Florence
to lose it with Freddie when he brings her father, believed captured by the
Russians during the 1956 uprising, into the argument. She reflects that
"nobody's on nobody's side," before heading off to the Merano Mountain Inn for
the meeting between East and West. Freddie doesn't turn up, leaving Anatoly and
Florence to eventually embrace, before being interrupted by Freddie, who has
been engineering new financial terms.
After the next chess game, Florence leaves Freddie, whereby he laments on how
his unhappy childhood left him the man he is today. Florence goes with Anatoly
to the British Embassy, where he attempts to seek exile in the west, and she
reflects on whether it is best to love a stranger. Walter de Courcey, however,
has his own plans, and has tipped off the media, who ambush the pair at Merano
station. Anatoly tells the awaiting audience that his land's only borders lie
around his heart.
Act 2
A year later, the Russian is set to defend his
championship in Bangkok, Thailand. Freddie is
already there, chatting up locals about the
nightlife before taking his place as television
presenter for the championship. Florence and the
Russian are now lovers, and worry about the
situation, especially the impending arrival of his
wife, Svetlana, from Russia. Molokov, meanwhile, has
trained a new protege, Viigand, to challenge the
Russian, meanwhile spying on the opposing pair.
Walter manipulates Freddie into rattling the
Russian on live TV , showing him footage of his
wife's arrival. She and Florence both reflect on
their relationships with him. Molokov blackmails
Svetlana into making Anatoly lose the match, whilst
de Courcey informs Florence that her father is still
alive in Russia, and will be released if Anatoly
loses. Neither of these ploys work, so Molokov and
de Courcey attempt to get Freddie to convince the
pair to throw the match.
However Freddie is more interested in winning back the love of Florence.
Secretly, Freddie arranges to meet Anatoly in a temple, whereby he informs
Sergievsky of a flaw in his challenger's game. In the deciding game of the
match, the Russian manages an exceptional victory, and realizes that it may be
the only success he can achieve - Svetlana castigates him for wallowing in the
crowd's empty praise, whilst Florence is similarly annoyed with him for casting
aside his moral ideals. Later, he and Florence reflect on their story that
seemed so promising, and how they "go on pretending/ stories like ours/ have
happy endings." Florence is left alone, when de Courcey informs her that Anatoly
has defected back to the USSR, meaning that her father will be released, that
is, if he is actually alive.... Florence breaks down, telling Walter that he is
using people's lives for nothing, before repeating Anatoly's sentiments from the
end of Act One, that her only borders lie around her heart.
