Broadway & International

Training & Drama Schools

Backstage & Technical

Opera

Dance

West End

Musical Theatre

Pantomime

Edinburgh Fringe

Obituaries & Archive

NPO 2023-26

Awards

Jobs & Auditions

Hot Topics

Acting & Performance

Shakespeare

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead review

“Kathryn Hunter is unearthly”

ReviewsMar 31, 2023by Sam MarloweBarbican Theatre, London

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead at Barbican Theatre, London. Photo: Marc Brenner

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead at Barbican Theatre, London. Photo: Marc Brenner

Simon McBurney’s staging of Olga Tokarczuk’s 2009 novel for Complicité is stealthily potent

Support The Stage by registering or subscribing

To continue reading this article you must be logged in.

Register or login below to unlock 3 free articles every month.

OR

Or start a 13-week trial for just £13 and get unlimited access to thestage.co.uk.

Sam Marlowe

Sam Marlowe

Reviews editor

More from this Author

Oliver! review

The Importance of Being Earnest review

The Fear of 13 review

More on this topic

The Employees review

The Employees review

Reviews by Natasha TripneySouthbank Centre, London

Love Life review

Love Life review

Reviews by George HallGrand Theatre, Leeds

Theatres across West End to dim lights in memory of Joan Plowright

Theatres across West End to dim lights in memory of Joan Plowright

News by Matthew Hemley

Hanna Streeter joins Stratford East as executive director

Hanna Streeter joins Stratford East as executive director

Appointments by Katie Chambers

More Reviews

Latest
Most Read

The Employees review

The Employees review

Southbank Centre, London

Love Life review

Love Life review

Grand Theatre, Leeds

Jenůfa review

Jenůfa review

Royal Opera House, London

Mariupol Drama review

Mariupol Drama review

HOME, Manchester

Aspects of Love review

Aspects of Love review

Lyric Theatre, London

King Lear review

King Lear review

Wyndham's Theatre, London

Staged

Staged

BBC One

Sunset Boulevard review

Sunset Boulevard review

Savoy Theatre, London

Recommended for you

The Employees review

The Employees review

Reviews by Natasha TripneySouthbank Centre, London

Love Life review

Love Life review

Reviews by George HallGrand Theatre, Leeds

Theatres across West End to dim lights in memory of Joan Plowright

Theatres across West End to dim lights in memory of Joan Plowright

News by Matthew Hemley

Hanna Streeter joins Stratford East as executive director

Hanna Streeter joins Stratford East as executive director

Appointments by Katie Chambers

Sam Marlowe

Sam Marlowe

Reviews editor

Sam Marlowe is reviews editor for The Stage. She trained and worked as an actor before becoming a full-time arts writer with a special interest in theatre and performance. She has written extensively for the Times, as well as the Independent, the i paper, Time Out, Metro, theartsdesk.com and the Chicago Tribune

More from this author

Oliver! review

The Importance of Being Earnest review

The Fear of 13 review

Reviews

Latest
Most Read

The Employees review

Love Life review

Jenůfa review

Mariupol Drama review

Revenge: After the Levoyah review

Oliver! review

Oliver! review

Titanique review

The Employees review

Jenůfa review

Firebird review

Love Life review

Jobs

Electrics Technician – Gielg...

Salary: £35,828 per annum plus staff benefits, regu...

Auditions for Nickelodeon UK...

City: Nationwide Salary: Competitive...

Musical Theatre Teacher

City: Dubai & Abu Dhabi Salary: Competitive

Technical Supervisor – Bourn...

City: Bournemouth Salary: £35,670 per...

Features editor (maternity c...

City: London Salary: £36,000

Auditions for Nickelodeon UK...

City: Nationwide Salary: Competitive...

Stage Management Team

Salary: Competitive

Assistant Electrician

City: London Salary: £42,102.84 ...

Seasonal Production Staff fo...

City: Chichester Salary: Competitive

Seasonal Production Staff fo...

City: Chichester Salary: Competitive

Senior Production Technician...

City: London Salary: Above SOLT/...

Customer Service Team Leader

City: Sunderland Salary: £30,929 per...

Deputy Head of Wardrobe

City: Zurich Salary: Weekly fee ...

Assistant Electrician

City: London Salary: £42,102.84 ...

Stage Management Team

Salary: Competitive

More Reviews

The Employees review

Southbank Centre, London

Love Life review

Grand Theatre, Leeds

Jenůfa review

Royal Opera House, London

Mariupol Drama review

HOME, Manchester

Recommended for you

The Employees review

Reviews by Natasha TripneySouthbank Centre, London

Love Life review

Reviews by George HallGrand Theatre, Leeds

Theatres across West End to dim lights in memory of Joan Plowright

News by Matthew Hemley

Hanna Streeter joins Stratford East as executive director

Appointments by Katie Chambers

Most Read

Across The Stage this week

Oliver! review

‘Significant damage’: Bristol mulls 50% cut to arts budget by 2028

'Sad wake-up call': graduates react to Bristol Old Vic Theatre School cuts

Welsh theatres warn of closures and job cuts without ‘immediate’ intervention

Actor Joan Plowright dies aged 95

London Palladium's Robin Hood becomes venue's most popular panto

What could theatre learn from British Airways' controversial changes to its loyalty programme?

Six heads for cinemas in April featuring original cast

There is an appetite for new plays – that’s why we grew an audience for them

Joan Plowright

Your subscription helps ensure our journalism can continue

Invest in The Stage today with a subscription starting at just £5.99

Newspaper

Opinion & Advice

More

Get Into Theatre

Info

Advertising Enquiries

Awards

The Stage Awards

The Stage Debut Awards

Legal

Terms and conditions

Advertising terms and conditions

Contributor agreement

Digital

Digital Editions

Subscribe

Subscribe

Start a subscription today from just £7.99 Subscribe

© Copyright The Stage Media Company Limited 2025