Kokova Magazine

In this puppetry adaptation of Anton Chekhov's play On the Harmful Effects of Smoking, Nikolai Nikotine is forced by his overbearing wife to deliver a symposium against one of his only remaining pleasures in life: smoking.

But his topic soon turns from tobacco to the pitfalls of marriage and the trials and tribulations of being Nikolai Nikotine.

Over the course of an hour, Nikotine lies and tells the truth, loves and hates, sings and dances, makes important decisions and introduces the audience to his only friends.

As the winner of the First Prize at the 7th International Festival of Solo Puppeteers, we sent our reviewer Adam Meyers along to the Edinburgh Fringe to take in the comedy that is Nikotine.

Russian puppets, spousal abuse and public service announcements - sounds crazy, right?

I went into Nikotine with high expectations; made higher by the fact that it was billed as 'pouring comedy' and as such, was apparently leaving audiences in stitches.

Was it able to meet those standards? Unfortunately no...

The show is essentially a one women show, with a little help of stage in terms of lighting and music. It centers around a Russian artist (in puppet form) who travels to different countries to warn others of the problems related with smoking. He however has a tendency to get off track and talk about his problems with his wife and the abuse he suffers at her hand.

Whilst there were some funny moments, the tone of the play, along with the characters, does not lend itself to comedy. The story of the artist is tragic and the feeling one leaves with is a sense of melancholy at the site of this wilted and broken man. To bill the play as a comedy that has audiences in fits of laughter seems to be a misrepresentation.

Having said that, the puppetry and acting is faultless and if you were to approach this from the point of view of a drama, with comedic moments then the play works really well.

It has a wonderful use of different languages and a very Russian feel; emphasized through the use of Russian music.

Overall the show itself is not too bad, with the acting well done but I would not advise going into this show expecting comedy at every turn.

Adam Meyers

For more information visit: Nikotine