ONLINE THEATRE REVIEW: The Book Of Sirens - Pro-English Theatre, Ukraine (on Youtube)

This was an unusually topically and highly relevant production, drawing heavily on Markus Zusac’s novel set in a German town subject to regular bombing during World War Two. What made the play both extremely poignant and life-affirming was that it was performed in a theatre basement actually being used as a bomb shelter in the on-going war in Ukraine and the set, primarily of makeshift beds with one or two small tables, was actually not a re-creation but very much for real.

Director Alex Borovenskiy set the scene in the light of the on-going conflict, explaining that both the message and the story were simple (without giving any clues). With the play being essentially a monologue delivered by a young woman, there were inevitable parables with ‘The Diary Of Ann Frank’ and just as with Frank’s diary, the story unfolded in a linear way through with high and lows amidst a range of tensions and emotions but not completely devoid of humour. Anabel Ramirez gave an expressive and varied performance as a young woman having to survive in difficult conditions amidst ever-present dangers but with time on her hands, able to view life from different angles. The play was given added tension through the intermittent usage of Soviet radio announcements and air-raid warning sirens but this was juxtaposed to the melodic sounds of the Glenn Miller band, an enduring symbol of normality in the face of war during World War Two.

There were virtually no props but a set of seven books used very creatively, creating a number of symbolic images. At one point, every time a book was touched, a different resonate note sounded, suggesting the power of the written word. Think back to the book-burning events organised by the Nazis if there is ever any doubt of the power, or indeed fear of books! The collapse of books like a line of dominoes symbolised the dying, as a reminder that many people would not live to see the end of the war and finally, each book represented a year of WW2 with the seventh book placed on a table representing the present and 2022 in particular.

This was not a work of propaganda about Russian atrocities or the invasion but a human story about how innocent people are forced to suffer in every war. However, Borovenskiy reminded the viewer at the end of his introduction that there is a war currently going on in which Russia is trying to take over Ukraine. This was a very powerful and engaging production.

Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 1.10.23