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As it says in the blurb - "Based on Nobel Prize winning author Olga Tokarczuk’s novel of the same name, it is both an existentialist eco-thriller and a darkly comic feminist detective story!" but that hardly primes you for the experience of this adaptation, which is still developing - as it probably will until the last night, or so says Simon McBurney, and who are we to disagree!
Kathryn Hunter plays the central character, Janina, mostly at a microphone centre stage whilst an amazing group of actors play all the other parts, as well as highly innovative and effective chorus parts. At first, it appears a bit like a radio play but you soon realise that the chorus, a few props and some powerful projections will transport you to this small Polish village, aided by a subtle but effective soundscape.
Yet again, Complicite have pushed theatrical boundaries, Kathryn Hunter produces a stunning, watchable, credible and genuinely memorable performance and Simon McBurney's direction keeps this admittedly long play spinning along ... marvelous, one not to miss if you get the chance.
