Creator: Haste Theatre
Director: Chris Yarnell
In the middle of this stop/start stop/start show from Haste Theatre is a beautifully told story, played without dialogue, about a woman who finds a friend in the asylum she’s placed in after the Russian Revolution. The woman may – or may not be – Anastasia Romanov. However, the other versions of the story, set at either side of this brilliant mime are painful to watch.
The four female performers first present the play via PowerPoint, a tried and tested approach in recent years. Still, it’s better than the German expressionism which comes next and where the performers are not afraid of stereotyping Germans as humourless and stern. One actor plays the gun; another plays the entire Romanov family. One woman sits down to eat. It’s all very unfunny.
At the other end the actors, take part in a fake Q&A, about alternative version of the Anastasia myth, this time a feature film, which has supposedly just been screened. The women argue and shout over each other; the interviewer is powerless to stop the jealousies that come to the fore. The last version of the story is an absurdist nightmare that requires more costume changes than a Cher Farewell Tour.
But the centre of the piece is very effective and imaginative. The asylum is represented by a large luggage trolley that is wheeled on stage. One inmate hangs on its bar like an acrobat before Anastasia is led on by her doctor. The other cast members swirl around as nurses and doctors, before they become the paparazzi waiting in New York to snap photos of the famous grand duchess. As Anastasia, Sophie Taylor works very hard and smoothly conjures up an impression of the doomed woman, ever under scrutiny in later life. In the last few scenes, Valeria Compagnoni plays Anna Anderson, who possibly may have pretended that she was Anastasia. Even with DNA proof, the story is still in doubt.
This middle section shows the incredible talents of Haste Theatre (Elly Beaman-Brinklow and Jesse Dupré are the other two performers) and, as a whole, the 60 minutes is physically demanding for them; Taylor has to jump and down for five or so minutes in the expressionism section. Haste Theatre can tell a good story, but the comedic side to My Name Is flounders and the postmodern parts seem too obvious, and just get in the way.
The London International Mime Festival may have ended forever but whatever replaces it should surely welcome Haste Theatre with its tale of Anastasia through its doors.
Runs until 24 February 2023
