One-man show by Andrew Byron: The Good Russian

‘Bad Russians’ are a staple on the screens, and no one knows this better than Andrew Byron – he has made a career out of playing them. But surely not all Russians are bad? This story, told by Andrew seeks to tip the scales in the other direction.

The Good Russian is about Innokenty Makarov – a Siberian man, about to hit 40, whose life, until now, has been little more than domestic drudgery and escaping into books. When his parents die in a freak accident, Innokenty is suddenly free to pursue his dream of becoming an actor in England. He winds up, however, in rural Devon where he discovers that modern English life is nothing like the land of his favourite Victorian novels. Will he be able to shake off prejudices about Russians and land a meaningful role in the local production of Hamlet?

Andrew Byron is a British actor who has been obsessed with all things Russian (and Soviet) since he started learning the language at school. Discovering that a skill in imitation meant he could sound like a real Russian, he started to get acting roles as a ‘native speaker’ on TV and in films. This means that more often than not, he has found himself playing the Russian baddie, who usually dies, or the Russian who dies at the hands of the baddies.

Previous deaths include: Killing Eve (shot at close range), Doctor Who (zapped by aliens), Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit (shot at long range), Wonder Woman (close range – again), Catching the KGB Killers (Polonium poisoning), Waking the Dead (organs harvested) and 28 Weeks Later (Zombie attack).

In English, with Russian subtitles.