Nikotine Milena Milanova

An adult puppet show performed by Milena Milanova - this is an adaptation of Chekhov's "On the harmful effects of Tobacco".  An endearing piece featuring the aforementioned Milena and a rather grumpy puppet which is by turns whimsical and entertaining. The play tells the story of Nikolay Nikotine, a man terrorized by his wife.  She has insisted that he holds a conference against tobacco smoking (his one true love) but he uses the opportunity to tell the audience about all the problems in his marriage.  Visually this is more entertaining and lively than might first appear from its description - the piece uses comedy, music and dance as well as puppetry to put over its themes.  Milena is a talented and versatile performer and engaged well with the audience. 

We were asked to cover this piece by the management although it was not on the original curated list.  so they are obviously interested in rural touring.  This piece might well be suitable for rural touring as it is simply staged, and has fairly universal appeal, although, like most Edinburgh shows is only one hour long, which means that rural touring audiences might feel short changed.  Careful discussion about the nature of rural touring would have to be held, I feel, and I had to rush off to another show, so couldn't begin that conversation on the day.

Review by Gill Vickers