Atomic Tales, presented by Rhymes with Purple, is written and performed by Elena Arvigo, produced by Frodo Allan and can be found at the ZOO Playground. This production is inspired by Svetlana Alexievich’s Nobel Prize-winning work and portrays the story, emotions and thoughts of Ludmilla.
From the outset, Atomic Tales demonstrates the passion and fierce dedication to draw attention to not just the story of what happened with the RBMK reactor 4 explosion in 1986, but the story of a woman desperately in love with her husband who is cruelly taken from her. The set design, while simplistic and well suited for the space, is intricate and presents Arvigo’s strong diligence. Arvigo has clearly undertaken extensive research and throws herself fully into the emotional push and pull of the story and this one woman’s journey to love and support her husband, despite the obstacles in her way.
The strength of this production lies in the, at times, considerably distressing, almost manic grief intertwined with Ludmilla’s deep, earth-moving love for her husband. If love could have saved him from the drawn-out, painful experience of the body reacting to excessive radiation, then the audience is left in no doubt that Ludmilla’s love would have saved her husband.
Arvigo is clearly a talented, thoughtful writer and performer and makes use of several techniques that can sometimes be neglected within the theatre, such as the use of silence from Arvigo while Ludmilla is on her knees, her world utterly falling apart around her to beautifully haunting music. Ludmilla’s story is moving on paper but in the hands of Arvigo, the story becomes utterly heartbreaking and devastating. Arvigo also places excellent emphasis on the smaller things within a shared life, such as three flowers, and how meaningful those small things can be.
The only point to note is that some of the dialogue could have been slowed down a fraction in places so the audience could hear better, but this is of no detriment to the show as it feeds into the manifestation of Ludmilla’s considerable, heavy grief.
Arvigo has done great justice to Ludmilla and all those who lost loved ones in the disaster. The key point to take away from this is that Atomic Tales is not just the story of the disaster, but the message that the simplest things matter and will stay with you and that, “the most important things in life, you don’t say in words“.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
