Bliss is Fraser Grace's theatrical adaptation of the short story, The River Potudan , by Russian writer, Andrey Platonov. It is the tale of Nikita, a young soldier, who returns to his village home after the Russian Civil War. It is 1921, and he seeks to resume his pre-war life, courting a young medical student, Lyuba, and trying to re-establish himself in the world he once knew. However, his dream is dashed by both his own demons and the external forces unleashed in the conflict he has participated in. Ostensibly a story about post-traumatic stress syndrome, Nikita's struggle also serves as a grim parable of Russian history. Written in 1937, Platonov's story exposes the loss of idealism that followed Lenin's triumph and underlines all the horrors of Stalin's takeover of the revolution. Jesse Rutherford is positively haunting in his portrayal of Nikita, the once idealistic young man who is reduced to unfeeling impassivity, while Bess Roche does a terrific job of cap
