An Evening to Remember

Manchester International Festival is currently in full swing and I had the foresight weeks and weeks ago to buy tickets for a performance being held at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Thank goodness for email as the kind organizers of the Festival sent me a reminder that I had indeed bought tickets.

Last week I had the absolute pleasure and delight to see The Pianist.
A live production of Wladyslaw Szpiliman’s harrowing story of German occupation in Warsaw during WWII staged by Neil Bartlett.

The setting was tremendous, the dark, dusty 1830’s warehouse within the Science Museum's site. On entering the warehouse we were ushered up the stairs in semi-darkness by staff with torches. The stage was not raised but in the middle of the seating at ground level and the only prop consisted of a marvelous grand piano standing proud under a spotlight no more than 13 feet from the front seated audience.
We were a small intimate audience of maybe 90 people.

Much polite chatter echoed around the warehouse as we waited for the performance to begin. Above the chatter harsh rain could be heard beating down on the roof of the warehouse that added to feeling of being somewhere totally alien, somewhere quite awesome outside of our modern, 21st century rat race lives.

Suddenly there was a deathly hush and the two performers entered one by one in the dark illuminated only by a subtle footlight that showed the particles of dust that lay in the air.
Firstly Peter Guinness, narrator, dresses in black slowly, silently walked to the piano and around it. Then Mikhail Rudy similarly walked slowly on set and seated himself at the piano. You could have heard a pin drop despite the steady relentless rain outside.

During the 90-minute performance, Peter Guinness became Szpiliman; his delivery was superb, his timing and execution of the story was breath taking. He walked around the ‘stage’ at one time standing so close to where I was seated I could have touched him.
The casting, in my book, was precisely right.

The narration was timely separated by the wonderful music of Chopin and Szpiliman’s own compositions unfalteringly played by Mikhail Rudy.

During the performance I took a time to watch the audience seated opposite me. Everyone, without exception, was rooted to their seats and hanging on every word spoken and every note played. I too was transfixed.

I have seen many theatre productions over the years, musicals (of many varieties), Shakespeare, ballet and so on, but this performance has to be the most unusual, awe inspiring, thought provoking piece of theatre I have ever seen. I would not have missed it for the world. I believe this may have been the first time the performance had been delivered in English and my utmost respect is extended to Neil Bartlett and his team for their professional interpretation of this most haunting account of Szpiliman’s survival. Thank you.

The performance ends on Sunday (as does the festival). If you are fortunate to be in Manchester and fortunate enough to get tickets I would strongly recommend you go. If you have tickets already…. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.