Don聮t
be put off by the Russian revolution it聮s not just politics and
poetry.
The heart of the play is passion, be it for a cause or for love.
John
Sackville gives a mesmerising performance as the futurist poet Vladimir
Mayakovsky.
He drives the play with the force of his passionate verse. A man
ahead of his times, censored and controlled by those around him
as well as by the State.
Elizabeth
Mansfield as Lili Brik conveys the spirit of Mother Russia with
equal passion.
She is the centre of this love triangle a freethinking, free-loving
modern woman putting ideals above babies.
Balancing love and duty, lover and husband, ever sacrificing for
the good of others.
Mark
Payton as Osip Brik plays the husband masterfully with a strength
that gradually slips away as he compromises himself until there
is nothing left.
Gilly
Tompkins as Annushka plays the old maidservant with a delightful
cockney humour that lightens every scene.
Her wisdom and verse concerned with more practical matters as in
聯Do you want mouse shit in our soup? That聮s the question!聰
Steve
Trafford has pulled off that rare feat a new play about something.
The title is taken from one of Mayakovsky聮s poems. The script
moves seamlessly from dialogue to verse and back.
The only clue being the titles projected on
the wall.
The
set conveys a sense of Russia with its blood red walls and book-burning
stove.
The ladders, which they often climb, add height to their passions
as the bare light bulbs throw light into their souls.
*A Cloud In Trousers' run at the Burton Taylor Theatre has finished.
*The
views expressed in these comments are those of the contributor's
and not the 成人快手.
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