David Lane’s play takes the form of a first person, present tense narration of the descent towards psychological collapse of a complex and troubled personality. In lesser hands the fact-into-conceit of this subject might have produced little more than a depressingly parochial chronology-cum-travelogue, but the direction Lane has taken gives us a credible exploration of an area of personal (and to a lesser extent social) identity as it affects a damaged personality. The bald facts of Svetlana Alliluyeva’s life are a matter of record; the defection, the marriages, the time in America and the subsequent British citizenship.

“3rd Stage is a dance company which provides a platform for performers from a range of backgrounds who find that dance is an important part of their lives and feel the need to express part of their being through the medium…The whole performance was one of variety of mood and style, elegance and anxiety, poise and commitment. The professional dancers were marked by great technique and the youth company by great enthusiasm and accomplishment….”