The Coast of Utopia: Salvage

ACT ONE

At his house in London, Alexander Herzen has fallen asleep in an armchair. His wife, Natalie, died a year earlier, and his three children - Sasha (age 13), Tata (age 8) and Olga (age 2) - are attended by a nanny, Maria Fromm. Alexander is dreaming that he and his family are visiting Parliament Hill, and that while there, he sees a group of famous political refugees from around Europe, including Karl Marx. Alexander is awoken by the arrival of a visitor: Malwida von Meysenbug - one of the refugees that happened to be in his dream moments before. We realize that all of the political exiles that Alexander was dreaming of are actually in his home, chatting in the next room. Malwida is an unassuming woman who was caught up in the revolution through her acquaintanceship with German radicals. She offers her services as a tutor for Tata. As the party breaks up, Alexander and one of the French socialists, Louis Blanc, get into an argument regarding the philosophy of another guest at