Tag Archives: Hannah Hauer-King

The Brief Life

The Brief Life & Mysterious Death Of Boris III, King Of Bulgaria

★★★★★

Arcola Theatre

THE BRIEF LIFE & MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF BORIS III, KING OF BULGARIA at the Arcola Theatre

★★★★★

The Brief Life

“The small but mighty cast of this show present impassioned performances leaving nothing more to be desired”

The Brief Life and Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria doesn’t just pack a lot into its title. In just under an hour and half, Joseph Cullen and Sasha Wilson’s narrative questions the stories we tell ourselves about allied heroism during World War II, introduces other non-allied, versions of events and argues that some of the axis powers may not have been purely evil but nuanced and messy and maybe even trying to do their best in a bad situation. That may seem like heavy content for a musical comedy but it’s tactfully done, sending up the Third Reich whilst being sensitive to the horrors of the holocaust.

Boris III, deals with the reign of the eponymous monarch of Bulgaria during World War II, where 50,000 jews were saved from being sent to concentration camps outside the country. As the tale is told, the King didn’t have many options and was backed into a corner to ally with the Germans under pressure to regain lands his father had lost in the previous war. Whilst Boris wants what’s best for all his people, his Cabinet work in collaboration with Hitler to arrange the deportation of jews from Bulgaria and these newly acquired lands to camps elsewhere in the Reich. Cullen, who also plays Boris, portrays the King as a slightly pathetic character, albeit with a dutiful initiative to serve, trying his best to stop the murder of his people with the help of a few ordinary citizens and the church.

The small but mighty cast of this show present impassioned performances leaving nothing more to be desired. The most interesting portrayals are not evil without nuance, and director and dramaturg Hannah Hauer-King’s choices in switching each performer from one character to another adds comedy to what is already a razor-sharp script. Take David Leopold’s portrayal of Belev, the ruthless commissar of Jewish Affairs responsible for the rounding up and deportation of Jewish people. He is accused of being Jewish himself, a rumour he furiously denies, and you can see in just a brief exchange what might motivate his actions. And then, like the spin of dime, Leopold is the head of the Bulgarian church singing a country-inspired, Jesus-loving tune as jewish people flock to be christened in a plot to avoid deportation. Lawrence Boothman’s high-camp Prime Minister Filov is spine-tingling sinister and brings to mind Hannah Arendt’s banality of evil as he gets excited about the pen he will buy as a reward for skilfully manipulating Boris to implement the Fuhrer’s wishes.

“this show has all the makings of a sell-out with transfers to come”

An unashamedly revisionist or modern take on events, the female characters are forthright and pivotal in the plot. The King’s wife, played by co-writer Sasha Wilson amongst other more chilling roles, lends a consoling ear and is deft at providing a supportive proverb or three. The co-conspirators who infiltrate the government bureaucracy and uncover the plans to deport the jews are also women. It’s clearly intended that Clare Fraenkel as a Jewish musician represents the role ordinary people played in creating a popular uprising that influenced the government and king to stop the deportations.

Set and lighting (Sorcha Corcoran and Will Alder respectively) are simple and modern. Filament bulbs hang over the stage and King Boris’ throne remains on stage throughout leaving us in doubt who this show is about. The costumes by Helen Stewart in contrast are typical 1940s garb – pinstripe suits, heavy wool coats and military medals galore.

Music is used throughout to enhance the drama and create atmosphere, rather than drive the plot. Above all it’s unbelievable how talented each of the performers is. Not only playing multiple roles, but singing and playing flutes, guitars and fiddles too.

Despite a rather abrupt ending that doesn’t really explain what led to 50,000 Bulgarian Jews being saved, this show has all the makings of a sell-out with transfers to come – don’t hesitate and get over to the Arcola to be tickled silly and enlightened on alternative histories before it’s too late!


THE BRIEF LIFE & MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF BORIS III, KING OF BULGARIA at the Arcola Theatre

Reviewed on 27th September 2023

by Amber Woodward

Photography by Will Alder


 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

The Wetsuitman | ★★★ | August 2023
Union | ★★★ | July 2023
Duck | ★★★★ | June 2023
Possession | ★★★★★ | June 2023
Under The Black Rock | ★★★ | March 2023
The Mistake | ★★★★ | January 2023
The Poltergeist | ★★½ | October 2022
The Apology | ★★★★ | September 2022
L’Incoronazione Di Poppea | ★★★★ | July 2022
Rainer | ★★★★★ | October 2021

The Brief Life

The Brief Life

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The Swell

The Swell

★★★★

Orange Tree Theatre

THE SWELL at the Orange Tree Theatre

★★★★

The Swell

“The play is a fiendishly clever piece of writing, served brilliantly by a formidable company”

 

They say it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for’, or ‘never trust a smiling cat’. Although not perfect in their analogy, it would be a similar phrase that describes how we feel walking away from Isley Lynn’s new play “The Swell”. Lynn’s writing is deceptively artful and astute, crafty yet judiciously crafted. She has that rare gift of duping us into thinking we are on safe ground, but then abruptly pulling that ground away from under our feet.

Conceived five years ago as part of Hightide’s summer writing festival, director Hannah Hauer-King has helped steer the piece towards its premiere at the Orange Tree Theatre. Her close attachment shows up in the crisp and sensitive staging of the text. Specifically played in the round there is nowhere really to hide; a challenge that is embraced. When not directly involved in in the action, the characters are still ever present; in shadows, watching, chanting or silently echoing the unfolding drama centre stage.

The “Swell” in the play’s title refers variously to the crest of a wave, the metaphorical rush of blood to the heart when in love, or the rising of a chorister’s chest. But also, to the swelling in the brain of a blood clot that can cause a stroke – which informs the bulk of the brilliantly executed shifts and twists that shape our understanding of the characters’ journeys; their motives, relationships and deceptions.

The action shifts between then and now. Annie and Bel are seemingly in love, preparing for their wedding. Until Flo – a childhood friend of Annie’s – crashes into their lives with predictable results. Suffice to say the wedding never takes place. Jessica Clark fires Flo’s spirit with an energy that races ahead of her bubbly free spirit. Saroja-Lily Ratnavel, as the young Annie, veils her emotional scar tissue with taut jitteriness that borders on violence, while Ruby Crepin-Glyne’s rootless Bel is caught in the slow dance of domesticity, aching for the tempo to change. Sophie Ward, Shuna Snow and Viss Elliot Safavi are the girls thirty years later. The extraordinarily accomplished performances tease out the intervening backstory with an understated intensity that boils beneath the gentle simmering. It feels like a caress, but all along it is scorching us.

The play is a fiendishly clever piece of writing, served brilliantly by a formidable company of actresses. You cannot avoid the fact that queerness runs through it like marble. However, like Brokeback Mountain for example, the fears and prejudice sadly still experienced are addressed without coming across as a piece of queer writing. Sexual identity is not being scrutinised, yet questions and assumptions of personal identity are thrillingly exposed and cannily upturned.

The literal and the figurative walk hand in hand. Imagine them walking through a rather predictable romcom, but then they turn a corner and are ambushed by a psychological thriller. One in which lies come in all shades of white, and betrayal can be the kindest act. The mood is underpinned, though not particularly enhanced, by Nicola T. Chang’s a Capella vocal score. The essence lies within the dialogue and the drama, and swells into a fine fusion of writing and performance.

 

 

Reviewed on 29th June 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Ali Wright

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

 

Duet For One | ★★★★ | February 2023
Rice | ★★★★ | October 2021
The Solid Life Of Sugar Water | ★★★★★ | October 2022
Two Billion Beats | ★★★½ | February 2022
While the Sun Shines | ★★★★ | November 2021

 

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