There is a real pedigree to the casting of Bill Kenwright Limited’s latest world premiere and the promise of an intriguing story of musical artistes in Russia from 1920 to 1950 under the rule of Stalin. The title is borrowed from a piece of music that closes the show written by Mussorgsky in 1873, inspired by a painting to commemorate the failed attempt to assassinate Tsar Alexander II. The story tells sketchily the life of Maria Yudina (1899-1970), acclaimed as one of the greatest concert pianists of the twentieth century and her relationship with the composer Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) and features live his works and the piano music of Bach, Mozart, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Pasternak. If you like these classical composers, then you will surely enjoy the show.

The piano is played exquisitely throughout by the elegant Gala Chistiakova as the Steinway Grand Piano turns imperceptibly on a central revolve. Russian born but now based in Italy, she is a prize winner in over 30 international competitions and her powerful playing is the star of the production. Xander Parish OBE has a unique claim becoming the first westerner to join the Marinsky Ballet as principal dancer in 2017 and has also accumulated many international awards. Stockard Channing has had a long and successful acting career, most recently in the West End in Apologia but has also collected many awards including eight Tonys. Michael Praed rose to fame in the TV series Robin of Sherwood but has gone on to play many leading roles in musical theatre and drama. The combination of these talents promises something exciting under the direction of Roxana Silbert, who has created shows at many of the UK’s most innovative venues including Stratford East, RSC, Royal Court and Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, and choreographer Kenneth Tindall (Northern Ballet). As with any new work, ideas take time to settle and this production at this point still feels it is developing as it prepares for a London run.

Narrated with scripts in hand by Channing and Praed as Yudina and Shostakovich respectively, and using four music stands to rest the wordy scripts, the delivery becomes a curiously static presentation . While the format works for the venue’s On Air productions with Foley artistes adding to the storytelling, here it is laboured and lacking in drama and passion. The projected images on the folds of curtain at the rear of the stage are grainy and unclear, often with no sense of location or even connection with the words being spoken; only occasionally do they genuinely enhance the narrative. The movement from Parish as he pirouettes around the grand piano is elegant contemporary dance but also feels disconnected from the storytelling, except when he is occasionally called on to say a few words or interact with the leading characters.

We do learn something of Yudina’s life. A church-going Jew who developed osteoarthritis at 17 that threatened her playing career until she miraculously recovered. She became an unnamed pianist on the Russian state radio, and it is claimed Stalin listened to her while he compiled lists of who was to be killed. As the Nazi’s laid siege to St Petersburg or Leningrad or Petrograd depending on your politics in 1941, she played live on radio, and it was broadcast across the city so even the German soldiers could hear it. When Stalin asked for a copy of a recording of a concert, they played all night to make it so it could be delivered to him. In the 1950’s, it suggests Yudina’s intervention managed to save Boris Pasternak from a list of writers and artistes Stalin wanted executed, enabling him to go on to great fame with Dr Zhivago. These tales, whether true or exaggerated, do elevate her into a campaigner for artistic freedom, especially for women in Russia, and provide a fascinating backstory to the performance, particularly in the second Act.

With our daily new stories of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and their attempt to march to the Gates of Kyiv, the resistance of so many as well as the stories of assassination and arrest of those against the current Russian Leader, this is a story that should resonate and inspire. Yet it fails to do so and in the end, all you can do is admire the piano playing of Gala Chistiakova and wish that some of the passion, energy and precision with which she plays had transferred to the storytelling and staging. If you love the classical music of Shostakovich, Bach, Mozart, Rachmaninov, and Tchaikovsky, then you will enjoy the music recital element of this show, but it probably has something of a niche appeal.

We have not given this a star rating as we applaud innovative different shows like this and recognise the appeal that the music and dance will have to a niche audience. New works evolve and grow as they play to such audiences and this is a fascinating story that deserves to be heard and will hopefully mature into a production worthy of a London stage in the coming weeks.

Reviewed by: Nick Wayne

The Gates of Kyiv plays at Theatre Royal Windsor until 14 September, with further info here.