The Power of Darkness

by Leo Tolstoy

"The Power of Darkness" by graf Leo Tolstoy is a five-act drama written in 1886. This dark peasant tragedy follows Nikita, a farmhand who embarks on a path of moral destruction through seduction, adultery, and conspiracy to murder. As his crimes multiply and entangle his family, the weight of his actions builds toward a devastating reckoning. Banned in Russia until 1902, this unflinching portrayal of sin and conscience became a landmark of naturalistic theater across Europe and America.