Queerguru’s Andrew Hebden falls in love (again) when reviewing FIREBIRD the play at London’s Kings Head Theatre

FIREBIRD ****

KINGS HEAD THEATRE, London

Queerguru loved Firebird the movie, screenplay by Peter Rebane and Tom Prior, based on a memoir by Sergey Fetisov. We loved it for its completeness as a story. It ended when everything that should be said had been said. And now we love Firebird the play written by Richard Hough and directed by Owen Lewis for the opposite reason, there was so much unsaid, so much left to say, that the end of the play felt like it could be just the beginning.

Roman Matvejev (Robert Eades) is a Soviet pilot whose commitment to heroism in his job helps obscure his fears of who he is and who he loves. Stationed in the late 70s in Estonia he has two close friends, Luisa Jannsen (Sorcha Kennedy) and Sergey Serebrennikov (Theo Walker). Despite differences in rank and roles they are as close as three people can be. Whether it is friendship or love is less defined than the fact that the three are bonded to each other like planets in orbit. Roman and Sergey have a moment of passion, but after a warning from Colonel Alexei Kuznetsov (Nigel Hastings), and a flying accident where Roman is hospitalized, the two are separated. Sergey leaves the claustrophobia of the forces and goes off to study acting in Moscow. One day to Sergey’s surprise Roman appears and professes his love. It appears that they might finally be able to be together. Until Sergey discovers that while he was in Moscow Roman and Luisa have married.

The play revolves around the triad. Told in its most frustrating form the audience feels like they miss key moments and scenes. They never quite see Roman and Sergey have their season of love. They miss the romance between Roman and Luisa. It’s like something has gone wrong with the continuity of the play, a mistake in the editing. Some dialogue cut out. But in a dramatic and emotionally satisfying conclusion (avoiding spoilers) it becomes clear that this is how both Luisa and Sergey feel about their relationship with Roman. They both missed the part of him that the other had. They were both only able to see half the man that he was. Sergey and Luisa, once bonded by friendship, are now bonded by the fact that only together can they understand the full life of the man they love. He is only fully visible when looked at through both sets of their eyes.

Eades plays Roman with a bluff, and buff, beauty. Foolish and open hearted as a puppy at times, lost in his own mistakes at others. Walker is a delight. More familiar to people in his online comic content creation he is a reminder that good comics are great at acting because of their ability to perfect a line with timing. Sorcha Kennedy owns the part of Luisa. Kennedy is able to balance her relationship with the two men to such a fine point that the only conclusion the audience can draw is that she deserved better than what she got, without her turning the men into the bad guys, or herself into an object of pity. It is an expertly crafted love triangle that only comes into full focus at the very end. The pieces that appeared to be missing are finally the most essential parts of the story.

Queerguru Contributing Editor ANDREW HEBDEN is a MEDIA and cultural STUDIES graduate spending his career between London, Beijing, and NYC as an expert in media and social trends. As part of the expanding minimalist FIRE movement, he recently returned to the UK and lives in Soho. He devotes as much time as possible to the movies, theatre, and the gym. His favorite thing is to try something (anything) new every day