Theo Walker, Nigel Hastings, Sorcha Kennedy and Robert Eades in Firebird - photo by Geraint LewisRichard Hough’s play is set in the late 1970s just prior to the invasion of Afghanistan when Cold War tensions between the superpowers were again spiking and nationalistic fervour and sabre rattling was threatening global stability. On the military base, the two men are forced to hide their mutual ardour from their senior officers, notably Col Kuznetsov (Nigel Hastings) and a mutual girlfriend Luisa (Sorcha Kennedy), for fear of 5 years hard labour.
If the premise sounds at all familiar, it may be because the story is based on Sergey Fetisov’s memoir Firebird - The Story of Roman which was made into a movie in 2021. Here, directed by Owen Lewis on a thrust stage at Angel Islington’s intimate subterranean King’s Head Theatre, the cast and creative team have endeavoured to breathe life into a story which is deeply rooted in the anti-gay suppression of Communist ideology and the general moralising of the period. However, at a sprightly 90minutes running time (during which there are multiple scene changes) the simple timeline is never allowed to get bogged down in doctrine or political dogma, instead the potential for collateral damage is examined through the hurt inflicted on Luisa who feels the betrayal of both men whom she counted as closest and dearest to her.
Given the attendees on press night, it would be fair to suggest that the production is aimed primarily at a gay male audience - particularly considering that the biography of one actor includes mention of 1.5million followers across his socials. Perhaps this is the future way of things, with casting agents considering favourably, those performers who are able to bring a swathe of potential ticket-buying followers to the show. Certainly the passionate intensity of one bare-chested embrace, elicited a breathless hush from the auditorium, but perhaps this was due to a concerted collective effort not to whoop and holler when the protagonists finally demonstrated what they’d learnt from the production’s intimacy co-ordinator.
FIREBIRD runs at King’s Head Theatre until 9th February.
