Crafted together in the intimate space of a mere two weeks, Sochi 2014 is a verbatim piece of theatre inspired by the current situation of gay rights in Russia. All of the dialogue in the play was taken from real life speech: either from public figures speaking upon the anti-gay propaganda laws, or by the many Russians that playwright Tess Berry-Hart interviewed in the course of her writing. It made for powerful viewing above a pub in Islington.
The narrative followed in a mostly chronological fashion how the chain of events had initiated and developed, from the introduction of fines for ‘the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations to minors’, to the alleged brutality of police and anti-gay activists at gay pride rallies, neo-Nazis targeting gay teenagers through dating websites and the furore over the upcoming Winter Olympics, the eponymous Sochi 2014. As a gay press journalist I’d followed most of these stories over the past few months anyway, but still they held a startling potency in their presentation in full in this way.
Given the time period that this undoubtedly talented crew had had to make this show happen it was only to be expected that it was rough around the edges, but still the very raw energy it contained was like a breath of fresh air compared to other over-polished productions. Perhaps one of the most famous pieces of verbatim theatre is Moises Kaufman’s seminal The Laramie Project, also a gay rights play, which manages to introduce characterisation into its dramaturgy. Berry-Hart’s work perhaps lacked this, but still it moved the viewer to keen edges of emotion at various points.
There was talk of making this piece into a bigger, full-length production in January 2014, during the Winter Olympics themselves. Please do; for this was a wonderful show.
