As Diary of a Madman opens we immediately know that Poprischin, our protagonist, is suffering from what we would now call schizophrenia, but Gogol had no name for in 1835 when he wrote his short story. And shortly after we know that Popricchin also has what we would now call autism. And from that early point we watch an even further deterioration into bipolar and obsessive-compulsive behavior that will lead him into becoming a “stalker” and result in his institutionalization. All of this is done brilliantly by Volok over the course of this 60 min play.

What may unfortunately be missed by an audience invested in the “madness” is how much of Gogol’s work revolves around the class differences that dictate who one can be in early 19th century Russian/Ukrainian society. Poprischin was born to be a low-level clerical, and he will always be a low-level clerical. There is nothing he can do that will impress his immediate supervisor and his subservience to his boss’ boss will at best get him a pat on the back or a scrap from the boss’ table. The desire for the boss’ daughter will always be an unrequited fantasy.

Gogol seems to imply that Poprischin’s madness may, at least in part, be a result of his being restricted by society. That might be lost on 21st century audiences, especially American audiences, who cannot imagine those strict societal divisions.

What may be reject by current American audience is the failure to correctly identify and treat the disorders that Poprischin suffers from. Of course, that is asking too much from this early 19th century work and audiences should recognize and celebrate how far we have come while recognizing that our “advances” are relatively recent and may be temporary.