Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead
Barbican Theatre, London

THE highly anticipated new production by renowned theatre group Complicite had a rather unfortunate false start when its press night was cancelled at the eleventh hour after lead actor Kathryn Hunter came down with a sudden illness.

Since then, Amanda Hadingue has dauntlessly stepped into what proves to be quite the Herculean role for most of the short two-week run at the Barbican... but not tonight.

The diminutive grey-haired Hunter ambles out, in character, rasping and coughing into a central mic: “Just a touch of Covid!” she jests, although the irony isn’t lost.

She sets the scene with her trademark eccentric flair in a remarkably compelling feat of storytelling that goes from rambling monologues to breaking the fourth wall. 

Based on the 2009 eco-thriller novel Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead by Nobel prize-winning Polish author Olga Tokarczuk, the play, directed by Complicite co-founder Simon McBurney, does the book huge justice. And no doubt, if you haven’t read it you’ll certainly want to after this performance.

Hunter is Janina Duszejko, a plucky 65-year-old who lives alone in rural Poland, who adores astrology, William Blake and has a huge affection for animals — she despairs over the two missing dogs she considers her daughters.

Unsurprising then, it soon becomes apparent that she’s at war with the local hunting community who shoot deer, foxes and other wild animals for fun.

The story instantly reels you in after learning that one hunter, a particularly odious one named Big Foot, has been found dead after apparently choking on a bone while eating, and Janina becomes fixated on the idea that a deer has killed him for revenge.

At nearly three hours, the play is as long as some operas — although you wouldn’t know it largely thanks to Hunter’s witty portrayal, almost made for her, and captivating narration. But she’s also complemented by an assortment of eccentric characters, who temper the story’s weighty topic with much hilarity.

In classic Complicité style, there’s also some striking physical theatre as actors in the ensemble who step in to portray impressively realistic animals — including a dog and a dying boar.

Rae Smith’s set, that projects constellations, and Paule Constable’s lighting that occasionally blinds you, all add to the atmosphere of this imaginative retelling. 

The story of a fiery woman railing against the ills of a male-dominated society that destroys nature could be seen as an allegory of today’s climate crisis and a study in what it means to be an activist.

April 4 to 8 at Nottingham Playhouse, April 19 to 22 at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry and April 25 to 29 at The Lowry in Salford; details: complicite.org