Olga Braga’s Theatre503’s international playwriting award winner offers a powerful look at just how intense emotions in one Ukrainian family’s anticipation of invasion.
As a calendar states on the back of Niall McKeever’s bleak and simple looking stage design (which reflects perfectly the fracture emotionally in a variety of family members relationships) it is 2022 and the Ukrainian people are bracing themselves for the Russian invasion. There is fear, uncertainty and trying to cling onto some sense of normality and dreams when terror threatens to take hold.
Olga Braga’s immensely emotionally intense play highlights how each of the character’s attitudes to what is unfolding in the country has the power to tear families apart as much as the incoming invasion and violence.
The play wastes no time in conveying just how raw these characters are. Sashko has just been released from a Russian prison, even more determined to do what is right for his country, while his father Seryoga is determined to play by the Russian rules in order to survive. Their conversations are the most raw and emotionally felt. Surrounding them is Marianca, Seryoga’s girlfriend desperate to get home to her son in Moldova, who forms a strong and intimate connection with Sashko, Nadya who hasn’t managed to speak until Sashko encourages her through storytelling to distract her, while her grandmother Vera and Ivan offers some tenderness through their relationship.
It is a play about connections, relationships and the ugliness of war that makes it completely compelling to watch from start to finish. There are plenty of moments that draw the audience into the world of this one family and the struggles that built up in the lead up to the invasion. I defy anyone not to be moved by the way in which the invasion is conveyed with the help of Niall McKeever’s unexpectedly adaptable set design that ensures that the end packs a punch.
Anthony Simpson-Pike’s production is tightly focused, really honing in the intensity of the situation with a realistic approach. It does have to be said the moments in which the pacing is changed through Sashko’s folkloric stories that he tells to Nadya feels a little distracting from the overall story – but there is a strong chemistry to the way in which Jack Bandeira and Ksenia Devriendt approach their characters in these moments. Christopher Nairne’s lighting design is strikingly used to enhance moments of great emotion.
The performances are all nicely nuanced, keeping the audience invested in their characters emotional journeys. Jack Bandeira manages to capture the complex nature of Sashko’s life experiences and his fraught relationship with his father, managing to convey a range of feelings through his eyes and mannerisms to great effect. Meanwhile, Ksenia Devriendt as Nadya offers a quietly haunting presence until she explodes in rage that captures just how she has kept a lot inside particularly when a tragedy hits her with particular force. Meanwhile, Steve Watts as Ivan and Liz Kettle as Vera offer some charming moments as their characters bond. It is all beautifully judged.
Overall, Donbas as a play showcases exactly why we need to be supporting more new writing when important stories like these need to be told. The production and play itself show great depth and understanding.
By Emma Clarendon
Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Donbas continues to play at Theatre503 until the 7th March.