Settling down in the ADC auditorium, presented with a live band, and what seemed to be a well-sourced play, it seemed unlikely that I would be disappointed; yet, this is how this performance of Babushka made me feel. The story tells of an old Russian lady who falls in love with a painting in the Hermitage, and the way her life changes as she finds out it is to be sold at auction. The story itself was compelling, and Sophie Crawford did an excellent job of fulfilling the role of the old woman, reflecting the narration with her actions and remaining primarily a silent character. It was a shame that alongside Crawford's emotionally powerful performance, the play was littered with slapstick moments and a number of scenes which were just comedy for comedy’s sake, rather than enhancing the story.

The actors and director of Babushka seem not to have been able to decide whether to make this a comedy or a serious play. The light-hearted moments did nothing but distract from the tragedy of the old woman’s predicament, and trivialised any significance that could have been attributed to them. The ADC advertising was right; “this troupe might be poor as church mice but they are just as resourceful, showing that the theatre can be a rich place by little means” - however, it wasn’t necessary to have two genres haphazardly thrown together for the sake of shrewd theatricality.

The actors, for the most part, did a fair job of working with the confusing clashes in the content of the play, and the musical accompaniment was generally very tight; though it would have been nice if the audience could hear the actors while the band was playing, as at times it was too overpowering. The unforgivable aspect fault with the performance last night was the total lack of professionalism amongst the cast who, rather than working through their mistakes, decided to join their friends in the audience in laughing them off.

Babushka certainly had potential, and at least a couple of the performances brought the required gravity to the life of the old woman; however, it is difficult to start to describe a play which was not able to retain a coherent sense throughout.