FIREBIRD

Review by Sam

⭐⭐

Based on the film of the same name, the memoir of Sergey Fetisov is brought to the stage for the first time in this intimately staged production by Richard Hough.

Set during the Cold War, FIREBIRD follows a young soldier who begins an affar with a fighter pilot whilst on an Air Force Base in Soviet-occupied Estonia. The play explores tragedy and love, as it details the lengths in which Sergey and Roman had to go to in order to conceal their romance. On the surface, this true story of military soldiers hiding their sexuality and love for one another has all the theatrical makings of the next Brokeback Mountain, however the play sadly ends up falling pitful to many clichés across its 90 minute runtime.

Almost every scene lacks in the passion and originality that would help this love story stand apart from many others like it. Hough’s text ultimately struggles to reinvent the queer romance narrative, as he re-contextualises plot heavy tropes rather than building on them to create layered emotional depth. As a result the play ends up feeling extremely surface level and generic in its structure. The narrative also struggles with its pacing, with the closing scenes in particular lacking in the emotional pathos intended.

The four person ensemble are largely engaging, with some light hearted humour being seamlessly injected into the narrative with ease. However, despite having the real life experiences to draw upon, each characterisation felt surface level and failed to impact me in the intended way. As a result of these performances, combined with the narratives tragic conclusion, I was left feeling ultimately underwhelmed as the show came to a conclusion.

Sadly FIREBIRD is not the unforgettable hidden love story it sets out to be. Despite being based on real events, the narrative is fairly predictable and brought to life through underwhelming performances. I am confident that with some added narrative depth, the show would have the potential to ignite my passion for this story.