Showing @ Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh until Sat 16 Mar
After the 1917 Russian Revolution, The Soviet Union had made attempts to liberate women but by 1942, when pilot Lilya ‘White Rose’ Litvyak was fighting for the opportunity to serve her state, things had reverted back to pre-revolutionary traditions. Litvyak is now widely considered as instrumental in the Soviet’s defeat of the Nazis in the pivotal Battle of Stalingrad. Peter Arnott’s White Rose premiered at the Traverse Theatre in 1985, while the venue was still based in Grassmarket. Nearly 30 years later it returns, revived by Borders-based company Firebrand Theatre.
It’s 1942 and Lily (Lesley Harcourt) joins the fighter pilots as the Battle of Stalingrad heightens. Under the command of Alexei (Robert Jack) she learns to hold her own in the air and on the ground. Best friend and roommate Ina (Alison O’Donnell) is a figure of unlikely strength to the pilots as the war progresses.
Through dialogue and soliloquies, the hopes, dreams, regrets and perversions of the characters are divulged. Energetic performances from all three actors deliver nuanced and rich characters. The role of Ina, originally played by a then unknown Tilda Swinton, is a powerful advocate for women’s rights and recognition. Director Richard Baron’s Brechtian techniques, such as alienation, detach the actors and audience from the characters; facts are conveyed concisely and give weight to the emotive plot. Baron’s production boasts consistent quality and Litvyak’s story is easy to engage with. We may have come a long way in liberating the rights of women and the British Army dedicate a page of their website to promoting equality but do we still have further to go? Arnott’s play celebrates the women who defied discrimination to do something extraordinary. Litvyak proves that it’s both possible and necessary.
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