Based on a 2018 novel which won the author Olga Tokarczuk the Nobel Prize for Literature, ‘Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead’ certainly takes the award for the most intriguing title to arrive at The Lowry in 2023. When you add leading actress Kathryn Hunter to the mix, spearheading a Complicite production, then theatrical mouths start to water at the prospect of these quality ingredients being brought together. However, despite an astonishing central performance as well as inventive and arresting visuals, by the conclusion I was left slightly confused and personally slightly underwhelmed.
The production takes its name from a line in William Blake poem ‘Proverbs of Hell’ and the 19th Century romantic poet is at the heart of this layered and dark story, combining elements of a scandi-noir murder mystery with a militant eco-warrior message. We first meet Hunter as Janina as she wanders onto the stage, plastic bag in hand and house lights up, engaging directly with the audience. She is small and frail, obsessed with animals and horoscopes, living in a village on the Polish/Czech border where the gruesome murders of a number of local hunters have taken place. Her strident belief in animal rights leads her to the conclusion that the local wildlife is responsible for the deaths as revenge and attempts to convince the sceptical local community of this.
The adaptation of this sprawling narrative by Director Simon McBurney attempts to pack a lot into the near three-hour runtime, with the metaphysical nature of Blake’s poetry being mixed with a more traditional mystery thriller and a layering of absurdism and comedy into the mix. This led to a challenging first half of the production, at over 90 minutes it stretched the concentration of the audience to the limit. I acknowledge that whilst absurdist theatre is not my favourite genre it undoubtedly has intellectual weight, pushing the boundaries of what can be performed on stage and testing an audience. However, to me it felt unnecessarily complex in places and thankfully relented somewhat after the interval with more light relief being provided by Dizzy (Alexander Uzoka), Boris (Johannes Flaschberger) and Oddball (Cesar Sarachu), in supporting roles to the dominant Hunter as Narrator.
Blake was present throughout, most notably utilising his work ‘Auguries of Innocence’ – its vivid poetry describes animal revenge on the human race for the cruelty they inflict – as an intellectual spine but the piece purposefully lacked a cohesive structure that makes it hard to quantify and demanding to watch. Complicite have developed a reputation over 50 years for innovative theatre and whilst it felt good to tax our intellectual muscles in this manner, there were audience members who were clearly increasingly detached as the evening progressed. Having watched three other shows in the last month that weighed in at well over three hours each (A Little Life, Lehman Trilogy & Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), I did feel this production, unlike all those others, could have benefitted from editing to a more manageable length.
However, the creative team were on top of their game in delivering a visual spectacle. Lighting and Sound Design (Paule Constable and Christopher Shutt) combined to allow seamless changes of mood and scene, blending with the video wall by Dick Straker to fill the vast Lowry stage despite the small cast and lack of set. Horrific video of animal attacks were contrasted with Hitchcockian close ups of faces before melting into beautiful constellations under which Hunter delivers her story, a beguiling and jarring sensation throughout.
This complex novel was adapted for theatre with Kathryn Hunter in mind to play the lead character of Janina, and after her recent illness it was a privilege to see her perform. Janina is a huge role, onstage throughout and demanding the highest standards of stamina and concentration to deliver, and deliver she definitely does. Her diminutive size actually adds to the power she radiates onstage, by turns both dominating and chivvying but frail and vulnerable by the conclusion, you cannot help but sympathise with the loss of ‘her daughters’ which is the key to the resolution of the entire mystery. Add in the ensemble, mesmerising in their execution of the complex Complicite choreography, and you have an exhibition of European theatre performance in its purest essence.
Overall, despite not quite fulfilling my expectations, there is no doubt that Complicite have succeeded in producing theatre that demonstrates all the facets of their theatrical style and vision. With a superb central performance by Hunter, this show will undoubtedly be lauded on its forthcoming European Tour where this technique originated.
Playing until 29th April, https://thelowry.com/
Reviewer: Paul Wilcox
Reviewed: 25th April 2023
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★