Review: The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria at Arcola Theatre, London

Wednesday, 27th September 2023 at Arcola Theatre, London.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reviewer: Emma Dorfman

The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria made a splash at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, so I was eager to see the London transfer of this comical, self-aware narrative about Boris III, the penultimate King of Bulgaria. During World War II, King Boris saved the lives of 40,000 Bulgarian Jews, ‘and you’ve never heard of me’, he exclaims at the top of the show.

With Boris III (Joseph Cullen) as the central character in his own story, it’s safe to say that this is not exactly documentary theatre: quite a few liberties are taken, and some events are embellished slightly or provided with more modern asides. Even though this makes for an entertaining story, however, I’m under the impression that some of the more contemporary material inadvertently sidelines the show’s central message.

Right from the beginning, we are brought straight into action. Boris must chose a side: will it be the Nazis or the Allies? Before he can make his final decision, we are given Boris’ origin story by the show’s multi-talented ensemble. It turns out that Boris is not even Bulgarian, and his father, Ferdinand, was not initially in line to inherit the throne. A raucous re-enactment of Ferdinand’s journey to kingdom is the first example of the aforementioned modern commentary, as an anonymous horseman (at this moment, played by Clare Fraenkel), on a quest to find the next, most suitable king for Bulgaria, questions, ‘Are you white? Are you male? Can you ride a horse’? All of Ferdinand’s (though he plays many parts, this time played by Lawrence Boothman) responses are a defiant ‘Yes’!, and just like that, he has the job.

While there’s no denying that there was hardly any room in 1940s Europe for anyone who wasn’t white or male, it’s still a very tenuous connection between this and the moral dilemma at the heart of this piece. Boris’s decision to side with Nazi Germany is at the crux of all of the juicy ethical questions that should be asked throughout this production. Instead, though, they are cast aside for somewhat confusing, modern insertions, such as Giovanna giving much needed advice to Boris and how he might go about appeasing Hitler whilst also maintaining the livelihoods of his Jewish Bulgarian citizens.

Giovanna is wonderfully played by Sasha Wilson, with a perfectly pompous conviction. Her last line, ‘I’m already as outspoken as the 1940s will allow me’, though, detracts from the crucial, larger questions we should be asking about Boris and his political action (or inaction): What made the Nazis an attractive ally for Boris in the first place? What does siding with the Nazis truly say about Boris’ care for his Jewish citizens?

The crux of the narrative arrives when Boris is forced to sign the Tripartite Pact, which would mean sending the Jews out of Bulgaria and into the hands of the Nazis and their plans for ‘the Final Solution’. Boris takes issue with this clause in the Pact. ‘But my dentist is Jewish!’, he exclaims in humourous defiance. It’s just about as effective as the old ‘I have plenty of Black friends’! And yet, Boris’ relationship to the Jewish people is largely unexplored.

As its laid out to us here, we are under the assumption that this is less important than the actual historical fact that he managed to save thousands of Jewish lives by defying Hitler’s orders. This is a bit puzzling considering all of the revisionist history and wild re-imaginings witness thus far. This, combined with the evidently progressive agenda of the production, seems to suggest that the wrong ideas are being interrogated here.

As popular as it is to drag the straight white man today, the real issues here have more to do with social justice. Namely, what does real political action look like? What does it mean to be an ally, and where is the line at which that allyship is broken? Even though the outcome was positive (lives were saved, a small dent to offset the 6 million Jews ultimately lost), this narrative still hasn’t yet interrogated the questionable steps toward achieving that outcome.

The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria is at Arcola Theatre, London until October 21st 2023 – more information and tickets can be found here.