Issy Cory
Franc and Kira are trapped in a room, tasked with playing all the games. And I mean, all of them. Over the course of 2,000 years they play every board game under the sun, until they come to the final one: Russian Roulette.
As the gun gets passed between the two players, and they become increasingly frustrated as the time passes and no-one seems to lose, they are left clueless as to how they can finish this cruel experiment. If they can complete all the games, they can leave. But who’s ‘they’? And why have they trapped them in this room?
Paradok Platform present Russian Roulette Play as part of their selection of new writing for this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The premise is a fun one, and makes for an energetic, absurdist foundation from which they can branch out into some very offbeat antics.
Our actors, Anya McChristie and Will Osbon (also the writer of Russian Roulette Play), give us some marvellously comedic performances. McChristie is particularly skilled at creating a loveable, eccentric character in Kira, frequently earning laughs at the delivery of her lines.
With some promising beginnings, the play soon begins to falter as we are left with too many big questions about the characters’ circumstances. Why are they trapped in this room together? Where have they come from? Is this a cruel punishment for previous wrongdoings? We are left to play a bit of Blind Man’s Bluff with this one.
The idea that Franc and Kira are kept in this room for 2,000 years is preposterous, to say the least. How have they kept themselves sustained, and why can’t we see the effects of these arduous years as the play moves on? Kept pristine in their white outfits, it is hard to believe they have survived that long.
There are some strange interludes which have a tenuous link to the main plot, such as Kira suffocating a toy crocodile under a pillow, or the pair acting out one of Kira’s memories of her mother leaving her at a gas station when she was twelve to get off with a waiter. Whilst these provide an opportunity for some physical comedy, which was undoubtedly enjoyable, they exist in too separate a realm to provide any payoff.
Though McChristie played Kira with gusto, her character seems confused with how bold she can be. On one hand, she can wrap Franc around her finger, leading him on and then shooting him down, then on the other hand, she never plucks up the courage to take the rulebook off Franc, thus keeping herself in the dark about the real conclusion to the game.
There is a simpler story to tell here, one that could have preserved the comedy and drama that Osbon is clearly capable of. That said, the ending packed all the punch we were gunning for throughout.
Recommended Drink: A white russian.
You can catch Russian Roulette Play at Theatre at Bedlam Theatre from Aug 23-25 at 21:30. Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
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