A review by Vanessa Bunn for EXTRA! EXTRA!
14 February 2012 – 4 March 2012
In the opening scene of A Russian Play the audience find themselves peering around the dingy, freezing attic of a run-down building in Petrograd. Before long Fyodor (Tom Kanji) enters the scene in battered clothing and fixes his immediate attention on a grand old typewriter which is to become the prop at the centre of the action. Before long the door bursts open as his similarly adorned, bearded ally Alexei (Dan Percival) storms in shaking off snow and with futile haste closes the door on the winter cold which also pervades the room. The scene is ripe for a set of comic exchanges between the two, the topics for which range from the impending Bolshevik revolution to the size of their respective potatoes, in a script that often blisters with wit.
It soon becomes apparent that this hopeless duo are penniless, on the brink of eviction, and almost starving, and this propels the bleak comedy. A palpable Beckettian influence peaks in their frantic discussions about food. The need for money is the pressing concern which infiltrates each topic they discuss. Dan Percival is brilliant as the magnetic, energetic instigator of action, Alexei while Tom Kanji's Fyodor is equally engaging in his introverted, dismal way. There is a carnivalesque atmosphere as fragile health and mental states find their end in a bizarre construction of revelry, the contents of their chamber-pot at one stage make their way out the window in the direction of their ill-tempered neighbour, this is followed by joyous abandon illustrated through singing and dancing. The chemistry between the two actors, their conflicting personalities and clear affection for each other makes the script come alive. This, coupled with detailed and authentic set design by Olivia Du Monceau draws the audience entirely into their world and their woes.
When Alexei leaves Fyodor alone with instructions to pen something pornographic which might earn some much needed money he delivers the hopelessly tepid and clumsy results aloud on his return. His reaction, a mix of amusement and extreme discontent, are a highlight of the comic action in the play. In the second half of the production the intensity and camaraderie are interrupted by the introduction of two more characters. Aloysha (Will Rodell), a naïve student who has been persuaded by Alexei at the tavern to take lodging in their cramped attic, who realises that he has erred in his haste. An absurd spatial trick enacted by sawing the legs off a chair to make the room look larger only adds to the confusion. The subsequent events lead to the arrival of policeman Vladimir (Harry Saks) to investigate recent events as things take an altogether more ominous turn.
A Russian Play is a clever, comic and engaging piece of theatre which is substantiated by exquisite set design. If it loses some momentum in the second half it is partially a testament to the wonderfully rendered relationship between Fyodor and Alexei which it seems a shame to interrupt.
Box Office: 08444 771 000
Lion and Unicorn Theatre
42-44 Gaisford St, Kentish Town, NW5 2ED
Tickets £12 - £15
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