If Vera Filatova does not win The Stage's award for best acting at the Fringe, then there ain't no justice! This is a beautiful performance, almost an acting masterclass. Her voice is strong enough to soar above some loud music and yet drop to a whisper when necessary and still be heard with extraordinary clarity. Not only that, it is a very flexible voice, and she makes the most of that flexibility.
This is a simply stunning performance in every way and deserves the five stars on that alone, but the piece itself is strong too - as one would expect from one of Russia's (and the world's) greatest novelists. Netochka tells the story of her musician step-father and, in the process, lays bare both her and his characters. It's a simple format - starightforward storytelling - but it is hard to see how it could be bettered.
One complaint only: had the piece and the performer not been so good, I would have had to leave long before the end. To expect the audience to sit on backless benches for an hour is too much! My back ached for an hour afterwards.