THEATRE: BOOGIE ON THE BONES at Omnibus Theatre 14 – 25 October 2025
‘One can sense the passion behind the project supported by a large creative team.’ ★★★
A highly political play, though not overtly, is set in Moscow 1956, under the Stalin regime. Resistance and uprising led by a group of young rebels called the Stilyagi made waves in the underground world. Their forms? Creative expressions in dance and movement to American Jazz music. Led by Bob, a medical student smuggling western rhythms by carving grooves onto X-Ray films, the stilyagi defied the oppressive regime and would go at any length to preserve their freedom of expression. Or would they?
There is a saying that the grass is always greener on the other side. Mels, an officer from the Stalin regime, played by Andrii Zamiatin is attracted to the free spirited stilyagi member, Polly (Anastasia Aush). But little does he know that his colleague Katya, played by Olga Pipechamka, has been developing feelings for him. Another stilyagi member, Fred, played by Max Taptygin, is in a relationship with Betsy (Vera Raskina) and wants to travel to America, alone. But he soon found out that life in America is not as bright as he expected. The Bob character played by Arseniy Cassidy was the one who seemed to stand his ground, costing him an arrest and detention.
Boogie on the bones is performed by the ensemble cast of six actors-musicians-dancers, all multi-rolling between characters from the stilyagi gang and officers of the Stalin regime. Four statues like characters of politicians from the Communist regime are created using coat stands with grey coats, topped by moulded head masks of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin (MELS). In contrast, the bright neon clothes and colourful ties of some the stilyagi members, much ahead of their times for being reminiscent of the 1980s fashion disco era in the western world, represented acts of rebellion in Soviet Moscow. Transition between multitude of scenes was aided by the variation of blocking of chairs on stage, the special sound effects, flashing lights, neon and red lighting creating an underground and intimate atmosphere. And of course jazz music, played as recorded and live music, accompanying swing and rock and roll dance.
Written by Daria Besedina and directed by Sofia Barysevich, Boogie on the Bones is based on true events surrounding the Stilyagi subculture in the post WWII in the Soviet Union. There is even a movie about Stilyagi of the same name, made about those young rebels who dare to rise up against their oppressors. The Slavic theatre company WITHINTHEATRE’s production is quite an ambitious project to put on in the fringe theatre scale. There were some confusing untidy scenes however one can sense the passion behind the project supported by a large creative team and the six cast members, all with lived experience of a totalitarian regime. With a final display on a digital screen: ‘The songs featured in the show were composed by Russian musicians who are now banned in Russia’ this musical theatre piece seems to be as much a tribute to fellow countrymen as it is an attempt at presenting the Russian culture to a western world.
Boogie on the bones is played at Omnibus Theatre until 25 October 2025 and at The Cockpit Theatre from 1st to 7th December 2025.
BOX OFFICE https://www.omnibus-clapham.org/
Review by Melanie Lam
Written by Daria Besedina
Directed by Sofia Barysevich
Venue: Omnibus Theatre
Photography: Varvara Burtseva
