An immersive folk opera about revolution, with dinner. Sound like fun? Well, at one level it is, but this is a show with a serious side, reminding us of the suffering of the Ukranian people under their own dictator and the recent incursions. You join a celebration that quickly turns to a protest which at first seems remote and simply "reported" but quickly scoops you up and makes you part of the crowd, part of the "people" suffering, protesting, throwing bricks and singing along. In fact the singing is infectiously beautiful, crossing cultural boundaries and speaking straight to your soul - well, mine anyway, I found myself confidently singing the deep harmonies of tunes I had never heard before but which sounded so familiar.
Some of the visual images, like the bulldozer, were brilliant in their simplicity, food was plain but excellent and the only down side was that my old knees hurt from all the bending to get out of the trouble. This is not for everyone, some people were joking and laughing - clearly either embarassed or un-engaged, despite the projections telling them this was where hundreds of people died. Their detachment said more about them than the show.
Our first show of the fringe this year (thanks to the train being delayed 3 hours) and a very worthy intro