‘There are no miracles in this world. Only those we make for ourselves.’

It’s 8 a.m. and a revolt is underway.

The father is dying. The son is spying. The wife is cheating. The uncle is stealing. The mother is scheming. The dynasty is crumbling.

One house. One fortune. One victor.

Maxim Gorky’s savagely funny play Vassa Zheleznova was first published in...