A Russian Play Review: Two Men, One Tiny Room & A Revolution Close At Hand!

By MJ Palleschi / March 6, 2012

rating: 3.5

Armed with my over-sized golf umbrella, I set off to see the last performance of €œA Russian Play€ written by John Thompson and directed by David Salter at the Giant Olive theatre above the Lion and Unicorn Pub in Kentish Town. I was shocked to find so many people in the pub on a rainy Sunday afternoon, but it was packed and not to see the rugby! The Lion and Unicorn Pub is a bit of a diamond in the rough. Just like the play it is set in dingy surroundings, Kentish Town has always had that knockabout appeal to me, but the interior is lovely , quaint and definitely worth a visit. €œA Russian play€ is set in the very cold winter of 1916 in Petrograd. The war is not over with the Germans and people are hungry. In a tiny room we find a disheveled and freezing Fyodor, played by Tom Kanji, with his typewriter. A few moments later he is joined by his equally messy roommate called Alexei played by Dan Percival. Here we have our two main characters of this story a wanna be novelist and a self- proclaimed revolutionary living in a very tiny unheated room. Times are tough! Alexei 's task is to find some wood for the fire, though he would admittedly much rather burn Fyodor's novels to heat up the place, while Fyodor's job is to write the novel of the century which will free them from this abject poverty they are living in. Once Alexei enters the scene the comedic banter ensues! The dialogue bounces between these two wonderful actors who clearly have built up an excellent comedic rapport and the witty subjects discussed vary from the size of their potatoes to existential philosophy to the future of Russia. There are also some nods and references to that old €œchekhovian despair€ . These references to ostensibly tragic literary themes seemed to strike a chord with a Russian couple sitting in front of me who were having a good laugh. At a certain point , Alexei proposes to Fyodor to write pornography in order to earn some much needed cash to pay the rent , but unfortunately his writing style just does not fit the bill. Alexei comes up with or rather steals Fyodor's brilliant idea of bringing in a lodger . The lodger , Alyosha , is picked up at the station and finds himself in the chaotic world of these two men. He is brilliantly played by Will Rodell who manages to counterbalance the unbridled energy these two down and outs give him throughout the second act. What happens next is only a taste of what is about to take place in Russia in a few weeks' time. Hopefully, audiences will get another chance to see this superbly written play. It is all around great fun and the writing is excellent. Olivia Du Monceau, the set designer, made excellent use of the small space and really captured the grubby reality people lived in those days. There is certainly a lot happening at the Lion and Unicorn pub. From Comedy Improvisation shows to Shakespeare , the Giant Olive theatre company will be hosting a slew of different events. Check them out at www.giantolive.com. Box Office: 08444 771 000 Lion and Unicorn Theatre 42-44 Gaisford St, Kentish Town, NW5 2ED