The Trumpeter
Finborough Theatre, London
Writer: Inna Goncharova
Translated by John Farndon
Director: Vladimir Shcherban
Producer: Stone Wolf Productions in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre with support from German charity Pitrimka
Until August 3
Cast: Kristin Milward
Running time: 60 minutes
Mariupol, where Ukraine for nearly three months in 2022 resisted Russia’s determination to create a land bridge between Crimea and Donbas, became a byword for horror.
Thousands were killed and bombs rained down incessantly on targets that included a hospital and a theatre, driving people to take shelter in the vast Azovstal steelworks where there were 36 bomb shelters deep below the city, a legacy of the Cold War.
This is the setting for Inna Goncharova’s devastating play acted out at the Finborough by Kristin Milward.
As much of the world has become distracted by other traumas, Milward and the Finborough have maintained a programme of staunch theatrical support for Ukraine.
Milward in December 2022 delivered the first international performance in a Kyiv theatre since the conflict began – an English version of another war-time drama “Pussycat in Memory of Darkness” by Ukrainian playwright Neda Nezhdana.
She also performed the play at the Finborough.
Now Milward takes on “The Trumpeter”, the story of the sole surviving member of a brigade brass band.
Given the unbearable horror of the present, the Trumpeter denies its reality, repeatedly comparing it to a work of theatre and longing for a past and an imaginary future where it might be possible to find love, which the playwright says is the true subject of the play.
The Trumpeter’s other pastime is to try to compose a symphony of war, but he is unable to find harmony when the cacophony of bombing is incessant.
Milward’s flawless performance is deeply felt and forces us to confront the daily reality of war.
The one-woman format adds to our sense of besieged bleakness. The only other characters are represented by jackets on chairs that imply the lifelessness of their owners.
Barbara Lewis © 2024.
The Trumpeter
Finborough Theatre, London
Writer: Inna Goncharova
Translated by John Farndon
Director: Vladimir Shcherban
Producer: Stone Wolf Productions in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre with support from German charity Pitrimka
Until August 3
Cast: Kristin Milward
Running time: 60 minutes
Mariupol, where Ukraine for nearly three months in 2022 resisted Russia’s determination to create a land bridge between Crimea and Donbas, became a byword for horror.
Thousands were killed and bombs rained down incessantly on targets that included a hospital and a theatre, driving people to take shelter in the vast Azovstal steelworks where there were 36 bomb shelters deep below the city, a legacy of the Cold War.
This is the setting for Inna Goncharova’s devastating play acted out at the Finborough by Kristin Milward.
As much of the world has become distracted by other traumas, Milward and the Finborough have maintained a programme of staunch theatrical support for Ukraine.
Milward in December 2022 delivered the first international performance in a Kyiv theatre since the conflict began – an English version of another war-time drama “Pussycat in Memory of Darkness” by Ukrainian playwright Neda Nezhdana.
She also performed the play at the Finborough.
Now Milward takes on “The Trumpeter”, the story of the sole surviving member of a brigade brass band.
Given the unbearable horror of the present, the Trumpeter denies its reality, repeatedly comparing it to a work of theatre and longing for a past and an imaginary future where it might be possible to find love, which the playwright says is the true subject of the play.
The Trumpeter’s other pastime is to try to compose a symphony of war, but he is unable to find harmony when the cacophony of bombing is incessant.
Milward’s flawless performance is deeply felt and forces us to confront the daily reality of war.
The one-woman format adds to our sense of besieged bleakness. The only other characters are represented by jackets on chairs that imply the lifelessness of their owners.
Barbara Lewis © 2024.
By Barbara Lewis • plays, theatre, year 2024 • Tags: Barbara Lewis, plays, theatre