Minsk 2011: A Reply to Kathy Acker - 30th May 2012

Having missed this critically acclaimed play at last year’s Edinburgh festival I was determined not to miss one of it’s two dates at the Sherman Theatre. I wasn’t disappointed.

This is a piece (mainly) created by the cast to demonstrate the repression of any hint of free speech by the Belarus government. This is perfectly indicated in the opening scene where the actors are arrested for a variety of trivial events ranging from unfurling flags to clapping or playing a musical instrument.

However, this is not always an easy watch. The performers all speak Russian but the surtitles enable us to follow events on stage and some moments are purely visual eg, when a naked actress is body painted then totally covered in paper.

The most emotional part of the evening occurs right at the end when all the actors have a solo moment to discuss their own personal experiences of arrests, sackings, exile and forced separation from their loved ones.

This is theatre at its most visceral and riveting. Congratulations to Sherman Cymru for staging it and for the Belarus Free theatre coming to tell their story. Long may they continue to inform and entertain . A must see.