Tag Archives: Nick Barnes

The Mongol Khan

The Mongol Khan

★★★★★

London Coliseum

THE MONGOL KHAN at the London Coliseum

★★★★★

The Mongol Khan

“its scale is epic, almost biblical”

Apparently, “The Mongol Khan” is a milestone for Mongolian theatre. It marks the first time that a play has been exported outside of the country. To say that it is an eye opener is an understatement. For one, Mongolia itself is still a bit of a closed book to most Londoners, let alone what it has to offer culturally. Written in the late nineties by national playwright Lkhagvasuren Bavuu, “The Mongol Khan” packs in millennia of tradition into three thousand lines of verse. On completion, Bavuu stated that ‘when I die, I will look back and appreciate this play as the zenith of my literary career’. In this respect, his friend and acclaimed director Hero Bataar has done him proud with his revival after the writer’s passing in 2019.

A soft rain falls onto a crowded St Martin’s Lane outside the London Coliseum. But up close, the showers part in an almost celestial way. Silk clad horsemen stand on ceremony while strikingly dressed performers wander through the crowds. A sense of occasion hangs in the air. The UK is the first port of call as the show sweeps into the Western World, having been banned from Inner Mongolia – a province of China – by the Beijing authorities.

Hero Bataar describes it as a ‘tragedy drama’. In my mind that is a modest account. Yes, it is tragic and dramatic, but its scale is epic, almost biblical. Yet throughout, its execution is microscopic and meticulous in its detail. A seventy strong ensemble complement the seven core players. It is essentially a dance piece. But also a kind of spoken-word opera. Translated by John Man and adapted for the London stage by Timberlake Wertenbaker, it is presented in its native language with surtitles. The text is rhythmic and metered, like a libretto waiting for the skilled hand of a master composer. Here, though, the music, composed by Birvaa Myagmar and Odbayar Battogtokh, underscores the pauses, the movement, the very breath and lifeblood of the heightened emotions.

“The vast playing space is multi-layered, almost like an optical illusion at times”

The play is set two thousand years ago in central Asia at the beginning of the Hunnic Empire. Loosely based on Genghis Kahn, it follows the fictional Archug Kahn (Erdenebileg Ganbold) and his two wives – Tsetser, the Queen (Uranchimeg Urtnasan) and Gerel, the Queen Consort (Dulguun Odkhuu). Both women bear sons at the same time. Whilst Khan accepts Gerel’s son as his own, doubts hang over his paternity of the Queen’s son – their relationship has not been physical for quite some time. His trusted chancellor, Egereg (Bold-Erdene Sugar) is revealed to be the true father but he tries, unsuccessfully, to convince the Khan otherwise. The Khan avoids doubt and chooses Gerel’s son to be his heir. Desperate to secure his own son’s position as the future Khan, Egereg plots to secretly switch the babies and corrupt the royal bloodline. What ensues is a story of betrayals, struggles, battles, deceit, sacrifice, and above all vengeance. With a body count that might even make Shakespeare take stock, bloodstains (figurative and literal) colour most of the action, words, thoughts and motives.

Central to the production is the visual impact. The creative team is too vast to single any one out, and the collaboration probably stretches way beyond the programme notes anyway. Bold Ochirjantsan’s costumes are the result of a two-year alliance with historians, archaeologists, artists and craftsmen. Consequently, we are immersed in centuries of the Hunnic world and dazzled by the jaw-dropping array and spectacle. A panoramic window to the Mongol spirit, thrown open wider still to reveal its culture in the choreography. But throw all intellectual aspirations aside and just marvel in the spectacle. The aesthetics merge as one – dance, movement, music, poetry, sound and light; and art in all its glory. Backstage must be mayhem. But that is not our concern; the magic happens onstage. The vast playing space is multi-layered, almost like an optical illusion at times – you refocus your eyes to see things you couldn’t see initially.

The lead performers are outstanding – particularly Urtnasan as the Queen whose maternal instincts gut wrenchingly vie with regal loyalty. Ganbold’s sonorous authority holds court as the Khan, battered by deception, mutiny and dissatisfaction. This is a burning production – passionate and thirsty – where the choreography is metaphor and symbolism carving through it like a sabre, gouging out its fateful finale. It simply must be seen. If you don’t want to listen to me, just prick up your ears and hear the thunderous applause coming from the Coliseum.

“The Mongol Khan” is a spectacular event. An extravaganza where Shakespeare meets Verdi. The curtain went up late. “We apologise for the delay” came the announcement, “this is due to unprecedented queues at the box office”. May these queues continue. We get the feeling they will, and you’ll do well to secure your place in them.


THE MONGOL KHAN at the London Coliseum

Reviewed on 20th November 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Katja Ogrin

 

 

More shows reviewed by Jonathan:

Radio Gaga | ★★★★ | Adelphi Theatre | November 2023
Treason The Musical | ★★★ | Alexandra Palace | November 2023
Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York) | ★★★★★ | Kiln Theatre | November 2023
Backstairs Billy | ★★★★ | Duke of York’s Theatre | November 2023
Porno | ★★★ | Arts Theatre | November 2023
The Time Traveller’s Wife | ★★★ | Apollo Theatre | November 2023
Lizzie | ★★★ | Southwark Playhouse Elephant | November 2023
The Ocean At The End Of The Lane | ★★★★★ | Noël Coward Theatre | October 2023
An Evening Of Burlesque | ★★★★ | Adelphi Theatre | October 2023
Othello | ★★★★ | Riverside Studios | October 2023

The Mongol Khan

The Mongol Khan

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LIFE OF PI

Life of Pi

★★★★★

Wyndham’s Theatre

Life of Pi

Life of Pi

Wyndham’s Theatre

Reviewed – 29th November 2021

★★★★★

 

“This is theatre at its most hallucinatory and wonderful, yet fundamentally simplistic; created by a collective vision that you forget is there.”

 

“Which story do you prefer?” asks Piscine “Pi” Patel of the two Japanese officials investigating the shipwreck from which he is the only survivor. We are approaching the end of this fantastical tale and it is a beautifully pertinent and intentional moment. It is a much more satisfying question rather than “which story they think is the true one”. ‘Life is a story’ and ‘You can choose your story’ are just two of the themes that wash up from the cruel sea of allegories that “Life of Pi” presents. Choosing what you believe and, in turn, controlling those beliefs is as treacherous as taming a Bengal tiger.

Transferring from Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre (delayed by the pandemic), Max Webster’s production, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti from Yann Martel’s novel, has predictably been hailed the new “War Horse”. Yet it is a different beast entirely. As intricate and astonishing as the puppetry is, the magic is also created from the enthralling central performances and the jaw-dropping stage craft. Under Webster’s sabre-sharp direction, the entire team of designers and cast capture the imagination, not just of the author, but of the audience too. It melds them into one of the same, both feeding off each other. It is an almost miraculous feat that is achieved, not from high tech wizardry, but from sheer inventiveness and trust in the human mind.

While Finn Caldwell’s and Nick Barnes’ puppetry breathe life into the wild creatures that pace the stage, Hiran Abeysekera’s central performance as ‘Pi’ is the life-force that pulses through the piece. Abeysekera pulls us into his worlds; his childhood at his father’s zoo, the hospital recovery ward, and onto his lifeboat. We willingly share his perils as he survives over seven months adrift on the Pacific Ocean. Originally accompanied by a hyena, zebra, orangutan and Bengal tiger, he is eventually alone with just the tiger. ‘Pi’ survives in part by acting upon profound philosophical questions that come to him like ghosts; and by pulling shreds of advice from his memory. “Use everything you have and defy the odds”. This latter truism can definitely be applied to the design of the piece in which the minds of Tim Hatley (set), Tim Lutkin (lighting) and Andrzej Goulding (video) have merged to conjure a breath-taking backdrop to the tale. There is a spell-binding moment when ‘Pi’ leaps off his boat into the ocean, vanishing in front of our eyes only to reappear elsewhere from the waves. No high-tech wizardry. Just inventive trickery.

This is theatre at its most hallucinatory and wonderful, yet fundamentally simplistic; created by a collective vision that you forget is there. In the same way, we are aware that the puppets – most noticeably the tiger – are being controlled by four different puppeteers, yet we don’t see them in our minds. What we see is the personality of a sentient creature vividly conjured by the language of its movement. The beast becomes human.

‘Pi’ tells us more than one story. We have his story with animals – fantastical, spiritual and dreamlike. And we have the harsh, scientific realism. “Which story do you prefer?” Pi asks, while provoking our silent answer with “You want a story to confirm what you already know”. This production challenges what we might already know about theatre but also, without a shadow of a doubt, reinforces our belief in the power of theatre. Long after you leave the auditorium, you will be bound by its spell. Abeysekera’s witty, compelling, and poised performance depicts a solo voyage. Surrounded by an incredible, indispensable company of actors it manages to transcend a single life. This is life itself. A fantastic voyage. This is Theatre.

 

 

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Johan Persson

 


Life of Pi

Wyndham’s Theatre until 27th February

 

More shows reviewed by Jonathan this year:
Abba Mania | ★★★★ | Shaftesbury Theatre | May 2021
Abigail’s Party | ★★★★ | Park Theatre | November 2021
Amélie The Musical | ★★★★ | Criterion Theatre | June 2021
Back To The Future | ★★★★ | Adelphi Theatre | October 2021
Bad Days And Odd Nights | ★★★★★ | Greenwich Theatre | June 2021
Be More Chill | ★★★★ | Shaftesbury Theatre | July 2021
Big Big Sky | ★★★★ | Hampstead Theatre | August 2021
Bklyn The Musical | ★★★★★ | Online | March 2021
Brian and Roger | ★★★★★ | Menier Chocolate Factory | November 2021
Brief Encounter | ★★★ | Watermill Theatre Newbury | October 2021
Cinderella | ★★★★★ | Gillian Lynne Theatre | August 2021
Constellations | ★★★★ | Vaudeville Theatre | August 2021
Cruise | ★★★★★ | Duchess Theatre | May 2021
Disenchanted | ★★★ | Online | April 2021
Express G&S | ★★★★ | Pleasance Theatre | June 2021
Fever Pitch | ★★★★ | Hope Theatre | September 2021
Forever Plaid | ★★★★ | Upstairs at the Gatehouse | June 2021
Forgetful Heart | ★★★★ | Online | June 2021
Heathers | ★★★ | Theatre Royal Haymarket | July 2021
Ida Rubinstein: The Final Act | ★★ | Playground Theatre | September 2021
Indecent Proposal | ★★★★★ | Southwark Playhouse | November 2021
Le Petit Chaperon Rouge | ★★★★ | The Coronet Theatre | November 2021
Little Women | ★★★★ | Park Theatre | November 2021
My Night With Reg | ★★★★ | The Turbine Theatre | July 2021
Night Mother | ★★★★ | Hampstead Theatre | October 2021
Operation Mincemeat | ★★★★★ | Southwark Playhouse | August 2021
Preludes in Concert | ★★★★★ | Online | May 2021
Rainer | ★★★★★ | Arcola Theatre | October 2021
Remembering the Oscars | ★★★ | Online | March 2021
Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Hung Parliament | ★★★★ | Online | February 2021
Staircase | ★★★ | Southwark Playhouse | June 2021
The Cherry Orchard | ★★★★ | Theatre Royal Windsor | October 2021
The Hooley | ★★★★★ | Chiswick House & Gardens | June 2021
The Picture of Dorian Gray | ★★★★ | Online | March 2021
The Rice Krispie Killer | ★★★★ | Lion and Unicorn Theatre | August 2021
The Two Character Play | ★★★★ | Hampstead Theatre | July 2021
The Windsors: Endgame | ★★★ | Prince of Wales Theatre | August 2021
When Darkness Falls | ★★★ | Park Theatre | August 2021
Witness For The Prosecution | ★★★★★ | London County Hall | September 2021
Yellowfin | ★★★★ | Southwark Playhouse | October 2021
You Are Here | ★★★★ | Southwark Playhouse | May 2021
When Jazz Meets Flamenco | ★★★ | Lilian Baylis Studio | November 2021

 

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