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Theatre Watch: In Defiance of Gravity

A dangerous game of power, seduction, and political intrigue.

Means Happy

Jul 31, 2024 — 6 min read

Written and performed by Saul Boyer, and directed by Toby Hampton, In Defiance of Gravity gives us the story of Ezra Montefiore.

Ezra Montefiore is the greatest psychic to have ever lived. He’s a master of the séance, telekinesis, and spirit summoning. Eyewitnesses swear he can raise the dead, heal the sick, and levitate 70 feet into the air. He defies all scientific explanations. Or so he claims. Behind closed doors, it’s a different story: he’s an addict, a gambler, a fraud, and a mountebank – spending his days exchanging sexual favours with his landlady for room and board.

But when an unexpected encounter with Prince Felix Yusupov catapults Ezra into the world of Russia’s aristocracy, he finds himself entangled in a dangerous game of power, seduction, and political intrigue. As rumours of his affair with both the prince and his wife reach the ears of Rasputin, Ezra faces an impossible choice: denounce himself as a fraud or commit political murder.

We caught up with Saul Boyer for a behind-the-scenes look at the production.

What was your inspiration for this story?

It was a serendipitous collision of ideas, really. My initial intention was to write a sequel to my 2022 Edinburgh show "Man of 100 Faces". I started out planning a sequel featuring the nascent superspy’s hillarious explorations with spiritualism in pre-revolutionary Russia, but the fates had other plans for me.

Before I knew it, I was tumbling down a rabbit hole filled with mad monks, botched assassinations, and fascinating historical figures that had flown under the radar for far too long.

The real clincher came when I stumbled upon Felix Yusupov's memoir, "Lost Splendour." I tell you, this isn't your average historical account. It's chock-full of gobsmacking revelations about the Romanovs and the Yusupov dynasty that read more like a David-Lean epic than anything resembling recorded history.

Here was the story of this remarkable queer man who changed the course of history. I knew I had to bring this story to life.

Did you have to do a lot of research in order to ground your story in a factual context?

Oh honey, you have no idea. I did an Olympic-level backflip into that research like it was a plunge pool of vodka at the Tsar’s birthday.

Yusupov's memoir was my gateway drug. Cross-dressing, spiritualism, psychic murder, and revelations of formative sexual escapades that would give Prince Harry a run for his money - it's all there!

But why stop at one source when you can have a research orgy fit for an imperial princeling? I devoured Douglas Smith's Rasputin biography. And then, in a belated moment of genius - or madness, I decided to Google the name of an obscure psychic in Russian, and that’s when I hit gold.

You're using magic techniques to help tell this story - how did that shape the creative process and the development of the show?

In the early stages, I let my imagination run wild. I was writing things like "fire flashes from fingertips,” “an elaborate soundscape of whispers underscores the scene,” “ashes perform interpretive dance to “violin played tremolo” with the vibe: we can do anything - this is theatre darling!

Then my production team and some magician friends, armed with expertise and a concerning amount of knowledge about fire regulations, gently - but firmly - pointed out that simplicity often works best.

I’m very pleased with what we’ve achieved and excited to see how audiences react to the surprises we have tucked up our sleeves!

This will be the 10th year at the Edinburgh Fringe for Unleash The Llama - having that experience behind you, does it make it easier to navigate the Fringe?

A decade at the Fringe - it's quite the milestone, isn't it?

Since "Nougat for Kings" debuted at the Underbelly Cowgate, the festival has evolved in ways both exhilarating and challenging. Economic pressures have certainly made it tougher for some of the more avant-garde shows to break through, which is a shame as those wild experiments have always been my greatest source of inspiration. Yet, despite the spiralling costs and post-Covid tribulations, the Fringe's spirit of unbridled creativity still burns bright.

This festival remains a beacon of artistic peculiarity, a crucible for theatrical innovation. The sheer scope of creativity, the risks taken, the breadth of content - it's nothing short of astounding. It's the lifeblood of the British performing arts really.

As for me, this will be my 7th year at the Fringe as a performer - and Unleash the Llama’s fourth Fringe offering. Its almost sobering to think that I was there the year Fleabag got big, and watched Baby Reindeer before it became the Netflix phenomenon - and all the while Unleash The Llama has been flying the flag for weird alternative genre bending shows. A theatrical jolly roger if you will.

Over the years, I've learned to pace myself, eat well, forget the FOMO and enjoy the carnival atmosphere of the festival. There will be other days to catch the must-see show, and other nights to drink all night. Sometimes, the most profound Fringe moments come from simply wandering around Edinburgh’s gothic cobbled streets, avoiding the crowds and maybe even having a cheeky cry while listening to the Proclaimers because you’re emotionally raw, hungover, and broke - and a sadist.

As for audiences, they remain wonderfully mercurial. One night they're enraptured, the next they're in stitches, and then just when you think you’re king of the hill and master of all you survey, they turn up stonier faced than the Scott Monument. But that's the thrill of live performance. It is an energy in the room, a game of tennis. It is merciless and exhilarating.

This year, we're offering a late-night spectacle that caters directly to the Edinburgh audience's penchant for the extraordinary. It's an immersive journey into a spirit world, blending history with fantasy, dark humour with psychological depth. In many ways, it's the show I've always wanted to see at the Fringe.

I've finally created a piece that I would be utterly delighted to watch, which is something I’m really proud of.

What do you hope that people feel when they come along to see In Defiance of Gravity?

I hope people feel that deep sense of being immersed in another world for an hour.

I want them to forget where they are and what they have done that day, what they have to do tomorrow. I want them to forget their own names and enter into a powerful fantasy that gives them the sense that anything is possible. To return to a childlike state of wonder and feel all those intense emotions that reconnect us to the sense that we are human.

Is that too much to ask for?