The Grain Store
translated by Sasha Dugdale Natal'ia Vorozhbit
The Grain Store
Ukraine 1929. As Stalin launches the first of his Five Year Plans, a close-knit rural community stands unwittingly in the path of his drive to create a thriving socialist Soviet Union. The outcome is catastrophic. What begins for the people of the village as an amusingly alien political concept rapidly becomes an unstoppable force for change. Robbed first of their land, then their religion and independence, the whole country soon becomes engulfed by a tragedy that will scar a nation for generations.
3.0 out of 5 based on 4 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Location |
Stratford-Upon-Avon |
| Venue |
RSC Courtyard |
| Director |
Michael Boyd |
| Cast |
Noma Dumezweni, Geoffrey Freshwater, Mariah Gale, Gruffudd Glyn, Greg Hicks, Kathryn Hunter, Ansu Kabia Tunji Kasim, Debbie Korley, John Mackay, Forbes Masson, Dharmesh Patel, Patrick Romer, David Rubin, Oliver Ryan, Simone Saunders, Peter Shorey, Katy Stephens, Sam Troughton, James Tucker, Larrington Walker, Kirsty Woodward, Samantha Young Joseph Arkley |
| From |
September 2009 |
| Until |
October 2009 |
| Box Office |
0844 800 1110 |
| |
Ukraine 1929. As Stalin launches the first of his Five Year Plans, a close-knit rural community stands unwittingly in the path of his drive to create a thriving socialist Soviet Union. The outcome is catastrophic. What begins for the people of the village as an amusingly alien political concept rapidly becomes an unstoppable force for change. Robbed first of their land, then their religion and independence, the whole country soon becomes engulfed by a tragedy that will scar a nation for generations.
Reviews
The Guardian
Michael Billington
"...the play's cleverest idea is to show how life mirrors art... No single play can convey the full horror of Stalinist genocide, but this one reminds us of an event that, as George Orwell said, English russophiles tend to blot out. It also demonstrates the growing power of the new RSC ensemble. "
25/09/2009
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The Times
Benedict Nightingale
"The play is too long, none too subtle and sometimes lacking in narrative clarity; but Michael Boyd’s production carries a punch that crosses European frontiers."
26/09/2009
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The Financial Times
Ian Shuttleworth
"Samantha Young and Tunji Kasim turn in strong performances at the centre of a production by Boyd that fully realises his ensemble vision for the RSC... Kathryn Hunter [plays] a peasant activist who, after being locked in the grain store of the title, begins to experience quasi-religious trances of truth-telling and prophecy. This aspect feels like an awkward and superfluous business to British sensibilities... it remains at odds with a predominantly direct depiction of a major issue or event. "
27/09/2009
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The Evening Standard
Henry Hitchings
"Michael Boyd’s production contains a good deal of nimble work, and the technical aspects have been managed with neatness and wit. There are fine performances, too... But the storytelling feels strenuous. Although The Grain Store presents a disturbing vision of socialist dogma degenerating into corrosive megalomania, and poet Sasha Dugdale has crafted an at times seductive translation, its cavalcade of grim episodes seems exhausting rather than tragic. "
25/09/2000
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