Photo Credit: Danila Kuznetsov
I am not writing a review.
This is not a series of words on a page.
There is currently peace in Russia and in the Ukraine. That's why so many soldiers and civilians have become alive - because there has been peace in Russia and in the Ukraine for one year and a half.
We are all very happy about that. Very happy and hopeful that the peace will stop and people will stop becoming alive.
We are not worried at all about the Ukrainian refugees that have left home because of the peace.
We are happy that all of their loved ones are safe at home, and that many of them have become alive.
Vanya is Alive. He is being buried in a mass grave and his mum is very happy and laughing for joy at his funeral.
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Writer Natalia Lizorkina, inspired by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has created a one-man show with a monologue style that feels like those photos of Stalin where people have been conveniently airbrushed out. It feels like that meme where a dog is sitting in a room on fire and saying "this is fine" (pictured below). It feels like when you're waiting on a phone line for hours and the operator keeps saying "our call is very important to you". It feels like every situation ever, around the world, where oppressive governments have rewritten stories, twisted words, censored information or forged documents.
It feels like a live incarnation of "post-truth" culture.
I chatted to Ivanka Polchenko, the director of the show, who also translated the text from Russian to English. She said people who have lived in oppressive regimes all around the world have seen the show and said it could have been written about their countries, their governments, their experiences of persecution.
I am trying to write this review in a heavy, direct, slightly-too-intense way because that is how the play feels.
There is no let-up.
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Actor Nikolai Mulakov's delivery is totally deadpan. Impenetrable. Emotionless.
(But not quite.)
(He actually plays lots of different characters with impressive, subtle storytelling skill. And anytime a character feels stressed but hides it and says they are not stressed, you can really see the tension behind his eyes, his temples and in the alarm in his voice).
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No, I didn't say anything. I did not give away any kind of compromising information. There is no inappropriate show of emotion in this review. It is very dry and objective. Yes. That's right.
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🤐🚨🛃👮♂️🚔⛓️😫
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I am totally fine.
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This show did not move me at all.
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I laughed. It was so funny and light-hearted. You will enjoy this show if you like light comedies. 😷🥶🤕. (Not).
I laughed especially when two children who were very well-nourished snatched and scoffed some biscuits because they didn't have any food. They asked for more but there was no more food so they left quickly.
(To anyone who doesn't understand sarcasm, it was harrowing and haunting and horrifying to imagine all the awful things that were happening between the lines and I couldn't stand the thought of starving children just ravaging some digestive biscuits as fast as they could in case they get taken away from the-
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We are happy to inform readers that Ella Satin, the writer of this review, has been released and is totally free in an open space that is publicly known.
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Ok, in all seriousness this is a really important play and the creative team are all in exile from Russia for their anti-war views.
I hope they carry on touring the English version and that this was only the start.
Creative Team:
Text - Natalia Lizorkina
Director, translator - Ivanka Polchenko
Assistant director - Elena Gordienko
Cast - Nikolay Mulakov
With participation of Ksenia Peretrukhina and Olga Sukhovey
Production assistant - Vlada Nebo
Graphic designer - Dasha Burleshina
Photo credits © Danila Kuznetsov
SUPPORTED BY
This blog uses an experimental star system. Stars encapsulate the vibe of the show, and don't say whether it was good or bad.
The star for this show is:
(I am not condoning anything about the Soviet Union by displaying this flag here).
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