Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead really is a theatre experience like no other. This spine chilling tale was beautifully told at the Nottingham Playhouse, focusing on the life of Janina, played by Amanda Hardingue for this performance.
The role is shared between Amanda Hardingue and Kathryn Hunter, known for her appearances as Arabella Figg in the Harry Potter film series, due to the demand of the character. The audience is transported to a remote small community based on the Polish mountainside where men from the local hunting club begin to mysteriously die.
Janina is convinced that the animals are fighting back against the men’s cruelty after witnessing the creature's strange behaviour, but gains the reputation of being the local mad woman. The entire performance was captivating throughout, but is not for the faint of heart as there were many sudden noises, flashes of lights and screams to add to the hair-raising tale.
Amanda did an amazing job as Janina, and the only thing more impressive than her acting was her ability to remember all her lines as due to being the main character and narrator she was essentially speaking for three hours. The entire cast did a fantastic job, with many cast members taking on multiple roles.
One thing that I could not get over throughout this entire production was how well technology was utilised throughout the performance, it really added to the story. The audience could see images flash behind the stage of the animals, as well as images of the characters, and to show Janina’s dreams of the boiler room.
It also helped to explain her astrological approach to the world through adding animated astrological charts and various other videos to the background. The production was brought to Nottingham as part of a limited tour by Complicité, an international touring company renowned for their challenging and innovative physical theatre.
The entire performance was extraordinary and definitely one I would recommend even if you haven't read the novel by Olga Tokarczukit that it is based on.
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