In a Polish village near the Czech border men keep dying in violent ways, their bodies are discovered surrounded by animal tracks in the snow. Janina Duszejko, an older woman who plots astrological charts and translates William Blake, has a theory: she thinks the men are being killed because they're hunters - and it's the animals who are doing it. They're taking their revenge.
As the men continue to die in unpleasant ways we learn that Janina has recently lost her two beloved dogs - she refers to them as her 'daughters' and is bereft at their disappearance. This is the setup for Olga Tokarczuk's 2009 novel 'Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead', which has been adapted for the stage in an extraordinary production at The Lowry theatre by internationally renowned theatre company Theatre de Complicité.
At its heart this play is a murder mystery - but this is a 'whodunnit' unlike any you've seen before.
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First things first. This is a long play. At nearly three hours it requires a commitment from the audience. It is also not an easy play. The ideas are big and the theatrical experience matches them - here we have themes about ecocide, hunting, activism, spirituality, religion, morality, existentialism - and fundamentally what it means to be alive. If this all sounds very heavy, it's because it is.
That's not to say the play lacks humour. Janina Duszejko, played by Kathryn Hunter in a remarkable performance, is strong, funny and refuses to be intimidated by the boorish men surrounding her. Her asides to the audience and her cynicism lighten the sometimes very dark mood. Her use of the microphone on a stand almost like a comedian lends a deliberately lighter air to things.
Janina is an unreliable narrator, and while the audience warms to her we also doubt her. This gradual unravelling of the narrative we've been sold is so skilfully done that we are both surprised and not surprised by the revelation that what we have been told so far isn’t the full truth. This is a testament to Simon McBurney's directing and the faultless performances throughout the cast.
Hunter's performance is a marvel. She's on stage for the entirety of the show and oscillates between anger and compassion, blind hopefulness and deep depression with real believability. She's a woman on a mission, to make the people around her reflect on the morality and implications of hunting and killing animals.
She's also a woman on the edge. She looks exhausted, and is suffering from a never-explained illness. Hunter is a diminutive actress, at times those around her look huge on the stage compared to her. Her portrayal of Janina is so full of nervous, unpredictable energy and fury, however, that she dominates the space - a whirling dervish of frustration, passion and indignation. This is contrasted with tender scenes where she displays vulnerability and quiet reflection. It's a performance that transfixes.
This is a play that has dead bodies at the heart of it - and Janina's character forces the audience to reflect on the killing of animals for food and pleasure. The line is blurred between the bodies of men and the bodies of animals, the hierarchy of species is questioned. Are humans so different from the creatures we routinely slaughter? Can animals be guilty of murder? How can the killing of an animal be sport but the killing of a human be something so much more serious?
One of the most striking moments of the first half of the play is when Janina confronts officials responsible for monitoring the welfare of animals and places a large lump of bloody red meat on their table. Their horror at being confronted with the reality of hunting, but their refusal to do anything about it is significant.
The complexity of the play and the subtlety of the performances are matched by a truly impressive stage setting and flawless tech. An incredible series of backdrops projected onto the rear of the stage and some startling use of lighting combine to create an unsettling atmosphere. The depiction of snowy hills and woods, with flakes falling in the foreground genuinely made me shiver on occasion - there are moments which border on jump scares - but it’s never gimmicky.
Posters in the foyer of the Lowry about ecocide encourage the audience to find out more about the issues. At the heart of this play is our constant unrelenting killing of animals. This is the horror of the piece, and is so expertly done it forces you to reflect on this killing that is everyday, normal and yet morally completely unfathomable.
This weighty play seeks to remind us that we too face an abject dilemma in our existence - that our time is limited and that while we are here it would be best to take care of those other living things we share the planet with.
In essence this a murder mystery, but in this play the answer to the question whodunnit?, is a complicated and uncomfortable thing. It's an extraordinary piece of theatre that refuses to patronise audiences with easy answers.
It will stay with you long after you leave the theatre.
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