Aleksei Arbuzov (1908–1986)

This book was issued specifically for the 2002 production held by the Tricycle Theatre in London, England. From their website:

In the savage 1942 winter siege of Leningrad, as the Russians fight off the Nazi invaders, three teenagers, Lika (played by Jenny Jules), Marat and Leonidik are thrown together. Losing everything from their pasts, they forge a new love that binds them together and a new hope which keeps them alive: the promise of a better future. After the war, now Heroes of the Soviet Union, Marat and Leonidik both return to the only woman they could ever love, and Lika is forced to make an impossible choice between two men who keep the promise alive. The only Soviet play ever to have transferred to the West End, Arbuzov’s classic of the 1960s is revived now in a striking new version by Nick Dear whose re-working of ‘Summerfolk’ was last year’s hit at the Royal National Theatre.

Although they say that this is a 'new version', I found it to be almost identical to the script of the 1969 movie version (starring John Castle, Ian McKellen, and Susan Macready.) That's not a bad thing - It's one of my favorite movies and the reason I purchased this book. Along with the script (which I wanted to review in more detail,) I was hoping for a forward discussing the original author and his own views on his writing. Unfortunately, there is nothing but the script and a short paragraph on the back saying what I've pasted above from the theatre website. I would like to know more about this writer!… (more)