Are we better off without certain kinds of theatre? Stalin certainly thought he could do without the work of Vsevolod Meyerhold, whose expressionist, stylised productions of the 30s ran counter to the social realist artistic doctrines of the USSR. Similar thoughts often crossed my mind while watching Scarlet Theatre's often impenetrable musings on the plight of Meyerhold as he rehearses The Seagull in his theatre, which will soon be closed down with the arrival of a minor Soviet official - very The Government Inspector. But it was no joke for Meyerhold, who disappeared into Stalin's camps and never emerged. He was secretly executed in 1942.
At least there should be plenty of human interest in this story. But Scarlet succeeds in crushing it: this piece would go down a storm with second-year drama students studying theory and practice but is almost devoid of interest for anyone unfamiliar with Soviet politics, Stanislavsky and Battleship Potemkin, or lacking an intimate knowledge of The Seagull, Chekhov's great play about art and the artist.
The second half is an improvement, not least because the hopes and dreams of Meyerhold's actors emerge with the characters they are playing in The Seagull. But for the most part this is just an overlong and knowing theatrical in-joke, produced with a disregard for accessibility, and does little to enhance Meyerhold's reputation. Only the seagull emerges with any credit - and that's because it's stuffed.
At the Theatre Royal, Plymouth (01752 267222), tonight, the Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster (01524 594151), Monday, then touring until end of January
