05/08/14
Assembly, George Square Theatre, Edinburgh
As both a theatre-lover and a Richard Herring fan, it was obvious
that I would attend this show. Less obvious was what I should expect. I
know that Herring has written plays before, but I haven’t seen them. The
poster looks rather solemn and serious; would the performance eschew
all humour to focus on the history?
Of course not. While this piece is certainly informative, it’s
entertaining too (“laughing and learning, folks”), and the
ridiculousness of the story the world was supposed to swallow is
cleverly exposed.
The casting is audacious, with Nichola McAuliffe in the lead role of
Prince Felix Yusupov, playing up his notorious gender-bending
reputation. McAuliffe is magnificent and Eileen Nicholas, as his arch
wife, Irina, is the perfect foil, these two ‘older’ women easily
commanding the stage. (Pay attention, Hollywood! Pay attention, BBC! Pay
attention, everyone! Women who are over fifty can be wonderful. Write
more parts for them!) In fact, the sheer brilliance of these two actors
creates what, for me, is the only problem with the play: their combined
charisma and charm means that they steal the show, and so the enigmatic
Rasputin (Justin Edwards), appearing as a ghost to torment Yusupov,
perhaps fails to make as much impact as he needs to, and it is, at
times, hard to see how the Russian aristocracy could have been so
beguiled by this relatively ordinary man. However, this is a minor
quibble – and there’s plenty to relish in the performance, not least the
multi-role playing and clever direction.
Overall, the play works very well, combining artful exposition with
delightfully silly humour, and really helps to illuminate this
fascinating moment in history.
4.2 stars
Susan Singfield
