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Theatre Royal Windsor – until 14th September 2024
Reviewed by Marcia Spiers
4****
Getting to review a world premiere is in indeed a privilege and this play I think will grow to be an amazing one when it moves to the West End. It left me feeling an immense sense of peace but also sadness, in that life in Russia today remains incredibly difficult for some people and the freedoms gained through Glasnost are almost forgotten.
Directed by Roxanna Silbert, written by Ian Kelly and inspired by true events, the play charts the life of Maria Yudina, a talented pianist who studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire with Dmitri Shostakovich, musician turned composer. As one of a few women musicians of her time she was outspoken, determined and dedicated to her faith which was perilous in a regime that frowned upon religion and actively made artists or critics disappear on a regular basis.
The play runs from the 1920s to around 1970 from the perspective of Shostakovich and covers their stormy on and off friendship, her intense romantic relationship with one of her pupils and her dealings with Stalin to whom she was openly defiant. Yet somehow, she survived perhaps because deep down Stalin admired her brazen courage or even more likely he enjoyed her music.
Michael Praed and Stockard Channing both gave gritty performances as Dmitri and Maria. The complexities of their friendship laid bare – Maria’s sense of betrayal and his complicity with the brutal regime to protect his family. On occasion there were a few flawed lines or moves, but this did not detract from the intensity of this play. For me however, the music and dance were the overall stars of the performance. Gala Chistiakova is an excellent Russian pianist whose playing of the Steinway Grand Piano throughout left the me in awe. The intensity of the music demonstrating its power over us. Last, but not least Xander Parish, Xander is an amazing ballet dancer and was mesmerizing throughout the whole performance as well as playing the parts of Russian Soldiers, State Police and Maria’s pupil and only love of her life.
Whether the legend of Maria is a true account of what really happened, it is difficult to tell because no one knows how much of this story is Dmitri’s own musings or what factual information is available from that period in history, particularly during the siege of Leningrad where everything was burned to keep warm and over a million people perished due to starvation or hypothermia . The only static from Maria’s life is her music. That is her legacy.
I do highly recommend seeing this play.