In Defiance of Gravity is playing in the Demonstration Room of Summerhall at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival until the 26th of August. This historical, queer-focused piece sheds light on a lesser-known part of history.
A biographical (with admitted embellishments) three-hander depicting the life of Ezra Montefiore, whose journey as a psychic takes him from the streets of London to the heart of Russia, becoming deeply entangled with their monarchy and ultimately falling under the beady eye of the infamous mystic and faith healer, Rasputin. What unfolds is the pressure on a man who is living a lie, staving off debt collectors, and yet his fame-hungry nature leads him time and time again to make the kinds of decisions that only seem to ensure that he will ultimately fall from a higher and higher height.
The performances are well-crafted, and director Toby Hampton makes excellent use of the space, ensuring all elements of the production flow. Saul Boyer, as Ezra Montefiore, is appropriately internally stressed and outwardly fronting up with faux confidence to cover his anxiety. The supporting cast of Lewis Chandler as the naïve and desperate Prince Yusupov, and Laurel Marks putting in an excellent turn, multi-roling as the salacious Miss Guppy and grieving, haunted Irina, are perfect foils for Montefiore to grapple with.
The production rattles along and provides an interesting insight into early 20th-century fame, politics, and fascinatingly touches briefly, possibly too briefly if there is to be any further script development, on the concept of battling mediums, each with their own fame or infamy and the subsequent fallout.
Tense and well-drawn with confident performances and strong direction, In Defiance of Gravity lifts from intriguing source material, worthy of exploration.
