It’s a warm, muggy evening in early September. The air pressure feels oppressive, and as we head into the theatre, the show starts and another type of pressure quickly replaces it. Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich is an artist under pressure. One wrong note could topple him; one perfectly judged crescendo might save his life.
The action begins in 1930s Moscow. His wife Nina is pregnant. He is mid-way through his symphony. Already his struggle is apparent as he explores the impossible choices faced by those living under authoritarian rule. At the height of Stalin’s regime, Shostakovich, nicknamed “Mitya”, played by Benjamin O’Mahony, walks a perilous tightrope. Under the constant threat of torture and death, he must appease a brutal despot, while quietly resisting him.
Shostakovich is one of the twentieth century’s greatest composers. Holy Fool, written by Rosalind Adler and Lea Sellers, is inspired by his extraordinary story and his battle to preserve his artistic voice under the terror system created by Stalin.
I confess, Russian history and classical music are not my forte, and I’m not familiar with Shostakovich. However, according to Andrew Marr, who writes the foreword in the Holy Fool programme, he is a towering cultural figure of the last century, up there with James Joyce and Picasso. So, it is with a heady mixture of pleasure and intrigue that I settle in for the two-and-a-half-hour show – with the interval – at the lovely Park Theatre, right by Finsbury Park station.
The audience wraps around three sides of the stage, just a few rows deep on each side. It creates a closer, more personal connection. Everyone has a good view; indeed we can see behind O’Mahony as he plays the piano. My friend also notices the actor John Lithgow in the audience, and, like us, he looks mesmerised by the performance, following the tense scenes and smiling at the occasional amusing lines, which lighten the mood.
From the 1930s, the play rumbles through the decades, finishing in 1970s Kansas, where ‘Killing Me Softly’ plays on a record player. Jenna Augun is superb as Mitya’s first wife Nina, a physicist with a sharp tongue. Their relationship is complex and stormy, as they navigate love and his career, while challenging tyranny and fighting for their family. Augun later appears as a nurse, in what is one of my favourite scenes. Mitya describes the music he must make to appease the Soviet regime as “candy-coated culture” while the nurse calls Mitya her “worst patient ever,” a nod to his arrogance and selfishness.
The character Katya, played by Phoebe Pryce, teases the composer’s personality out further, warning him not to “fall in love” with his pain and suffering, and remarking that he isn’t the only one to have suffered under Stalin’s rule. Fergus O’Donnell completes the cast as Izaak, a family friend.
Directed by Kate Fahy, there’s a canny use of music and artistic effects to add to the psychological suspense, and the drama. There’s excellent use of light and shadow as the guards interrogate Mitya. As the play enters World War II, I literally jump in my seat at the sound of German bombs falling. And, of course, we’re all treated to the electrifying music of Shostakovich throughout.
For a heady drama, there’s the odd bit of humour to break the tension occasionally; “What’s that got to do with the price of beetroot?” asks Nina wryly. There’s plenty of swearing, too, underscoring the veracity and desperation. The result is a darkly witty portrait of an outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant Shostakovich.
Holy Fool is an immensely enjoyable and enlightening production, aided by the relief we bear a mere fraction of the pressure that Mitya would have been under all those years ago. A final word must go to the play’s producer Oliver King, who observes, “Shostakovich’s story feels astonishingly relevant today. Across the world, artists, journalists and writers continue to face censorship, political pressure and persecution.
“Holy Fool isn’t simply a play about history; it’s about the courage it takes to keep telling the truth when the consequences become unbearable.” And that might be justification enough to purchase a ticket.
Holy Fool runs at the Park Theatre until 10 October 2026. Book tickets at www.parktheatre.co.uk or call 02078706876. Accompanying performances on 12th and 25th September, the award-winning Carducci Quartet will present Shostakovich in Seven Parts, a 45-minute journey through his legendary string quartets, bringing together seven contrasting moments from across the composer’s 15 quartets. Tickets are £15. Tickets to the play and the concert are available with a 20% using code SYMPHONY20 at checkout.
Photos by Mark Douet
