Originally published by L.S. Media. May 28th 2011.
Mikhail Bulgakov is not a name that runs easily off the lips and there will be many who will not have had the pleasure of reading anything by possibly one of the greats of Ukrainian literature which is a shame for his adaptation of Black Snow by Keith Dewhurst is one of the most perfect satirical take on the life within theatre and its allusions to nationhood.
This acclaimed play is daunting enough but to tackle it as non professionals takes bravery and a healthy dollop of guts to get the mannerisms and ideas across, in the hands of the L.I.P.A. second year students, the play was given an earthy and heartfelt quality that some major companies would have struggled to capture.
The main character of Maksudo was performed exquisitely by Mark Ashcroft, every doubt, every pause in his thought being timed to a comic perfection that was a stark reminder of the young Alun Armstrong, fabulous to watch and joy to behold. His dialogue with other members of the young cast being depicted with a sense of despair that was blistering.
The play though would not be anything without its back ground creative team and in the directing role stood Max Rubin who took the space provided by the Unity Theatre and turned into a claustrophobic exercise which thrilled the audience immensely; all this was enhanced greatly by the set design which was both sumptuous and just on the odd side of crazy.
The scene where the company is given acting lessons is both comical and insightful to the mind of what some productions may have to go through to get the play preformed.
The cast and creative time of Black Snow should be rightly proud of what they managed to achieve, the fact that they are still students within L.I.P.A. should not discourage any one from ever seeing this play should the same cast ever revive it. Brutally funny and a wonderfully distressing to see one man’s life descend into anarchy as he sees his life torn apart by the red tape of his country and the insanity of the theatre.
4 stars
Ian D. Hall