King’s Head Theatre : ‘A middle-of-the-road tale’

Originally an earnest memoir by Sergey Fetisov, Firebird: The Story of Roman morphed into a middlingly successful 2021 film written by Peeter Rebane and starring/written by Tom Prior.

Now the King’s Head Theatre has given this tale wings once more. But is this flight doomed to end in a cooking pot?

The gist, in case both book and film passed you by, is a boy-meets-boy love triangle, set in the late 1970s, with the added roadblock of a deeply homophobic and macho Soviet air force.

Sergey (Theo Walker) is our sensitive actor coming to the end of his compulsory military service, while Robert Eades breathes life into the lead, Roman.

Roman is patriotic, bisexual and ludicrously naïve about the possibility of a double life ever ending happily.

That leaves Sorcha Kennedy as Luisa, squandering her prodigious acting abilities as the tricked woman, following the boys along, hopelessly out of touch.

Nigel Hastings provides some wizened backbone and sage advice as Alexei, their commanding officer.

Kennedy and Hastings ignite any scene they grace, be it a quiet chat over tea about Luisa’s relationship problems, or at a deliciously awkward new year’s eve party that quickly derails into sniping and snarls.

There are rippling muscles bursting from white vests, gratuitous semi-nudity, forbidden kisses, and some crackling dialogue when the sludgy romance is set aside for biting comedy.

Sorcha Kennedy as Luisa. Photograph: Geraint Lewis

Most of the performances are top brass but are shot down by the sheer predictability of the story, given few flecks of reality by Richard Hough’s adaptation.

Gregor Donnelly’s aircraft hanger stage design and blocks of period-appropriate furniture ground us (haha).

Clancy Flynn’s lights have the hard task of morphing the space from military to domestic, from rural Estonia to cosmopolitan Moscow and do so pretty well.

Owen Lewis’s direction crafts some nice group moments but stumbles with long and clumpy scene changes in half-light.

The film, although applauded for being glossy and sweeping, was accused of missing personality and corners.

Sadly, the play falls into the same pit.

Luisa is a much-repeated role within the gay art scene, haplessly moping after the men, unaware of their inner sexuality-based turmoil. A tired stereotype.

The connection is missing between our blokes, with a stiff chemistry that never quite boils over.

This is a middle-of-the-road tale of the past’s undeniable horrors and humanity’s ability to throw everything up for love.

Every shocking moment can be seen soaring above you in the sky, and the ashes of destruction are never felt beneath your fingers, leaving not much for our phoenix to rise from.

However, this production coincides with a new English translation of Fetisov’s memoir, so add that to your reading list.

Any book that manages to enrage Vladimir Putin is a book worth reading.

Firebird runs until 9 February 2025 at King’s Head Theatre, click here for tickets!