How do we listen to music? Is appreciation enhanced by a knowledge of its social and biographical context? These are some of the many questions raised by this dazzling theatrical collaboration between Complicite and the Emerson String Quartet, which offers both an impressionistic mosaic of the life of Shostakovich and a deeply moving performance of his Quartet No 15 in E flat minor.
As in recent Complicite shows such as Mnemonic and Light, physicality is matched with ideas. A darkened stage is fitfully illumined by scurrying figures, suspended costumes, images of Shostakovich and accumulating furniture - at times we seem to be watching a kind of musical Chairs reminiscent of director Simon McBurney's production of Ionesco's famous play. We are also given fragments of information about the composer himself. We are reminded of the premiere of his Seventh Symphony by 15 musicians in a besieged Leningrad; of his complex relationship with Stalin who, when told by the composer that much of his work was forbidden in the Soviet Union, enquired "Forbidden by whom?"; and of his later iconic status, leading Yuri Gagarin to sing one of his songs while in spatial orbit. Above all, what emerges is the struggle and despair of the artist within an oppressive system: Shostakovich, asked if he would choose to live his life over again, replied with a weary negative.
Purists may argue that this is irrelevant to the music, that the final string quartet, grave, slow and death-haunted, needs no contextualising. But I found the work's expressive pain heightened by the encapsulated evocation of the composer's life. Beyond that McBurney's production raises endless issues. Why, for instance, do we respect music more than speech? The audience listened to the Emersons' climactic performance in reverent silence; contrast that with the bronchial barrage that invariably greets spoken drama. But the production also asks what we seek from music. Do we enjoy its formal structure? Do we look for its autobiographical basis? Does one preclude the other? You can't legislate for these things or apply one rule to all compositions. All I can report is that the interweaving of four actors with four musicians works superbly and that Complicite's kaleidoscopic approach made me listen to Shostakovich's final, sombre string quartet with freshly attentive ears.
· Until July 5. Box office: 020 7638 8891
