The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria
An ostensibly amusing, but also incredibly thought-provoking, production.
Norwich Theatre
Based on the true story of what happened within the Balkan state of Bulgaria during World War II, Sasha Wilson and Joseph Cullen, co-founders of Out of The Forest Theatre, have created an absorbing 85 minute one-act musical drama, and an irreverent comedy that seeks to entertain whilst shedding light on events that occurred in Bulgaria when the then Tsar, Boris III, decided to stand up to Adolf Hitler in refusing to allow Bulgarian Jews to be transported to the Nazi extermination camps. Currently on an Autumn tour that visits five provincial theatres, Out of The Forest Theatre calls in at Norwich Theatre Playhouse this week.
Whilst Nick Biandon, who performs the role of Boris III, makes an early passing reference to both Dad's Army and Blackadder Goes Forth in describing how we still view WW2 from our own 'winning' perspective, Wilson and Cullen's script cleverly takes us on a journey to a country that many of us still know little about, even though it is now a member of both the European Union and NATO. This story is of how Boris, finding his economically weak country straddled mid-way between Russia on one side, and Nazi Germany on the other, found himself negotiating with Hitler to regain the lost territories of Macedonia and Thrace in exchange for his country's military support. Only when he refused to co-operate in the rounding up of native Bulgarian Jews did he attract the displeasure of Hitler. Soon after, Boris III died in unexplained circumstances.
And whilst Biadon does seem to be channelling elements of Blackadder's Lt. George in his portrayal of Boris, and is partnered by Lawrence Boothman, whose characterisation of Prime Minister Bogdan Filov reminded me very much of Alan Cumming's Sebastian in 'The High Life', their performances are to be applauded for establishing exactly the right balance of irreverence and sensitivity in what becomes a dramatic telling of Bulgaria's heroic attempts to defy Hitler's orders.
Under Hannah Hauer-King's direction, and with supporting performances from Clare Fraenkel, David Leopold and co-writer Sasha Wilson, 'The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria' becomes an illuminating and incredibly moving depiction of how powerful nations use coercion and bullying in order to force smaller neighbours to toe the line. And whilst the story told is one that is clearly set in 1943, there are still examples of international political bullying being observed even to this day.
And that is the message that I took away from this ostensibly amusing, but also incredibly thought-provoking, production.
