BOOGIE ON THE BONES Comes to Omnibus Next Month
Performances run 14-25 October.
By: Stephi Wild Sep. 22, 2025
Inspired by real events and brought to the stage by Slavic theatre company WITHINTHEATRE, Boogie on the Bones looks at love, music and the price of freedom in a post Stalinist Russia. In 1956 Moscow, a new underground movement - the Stilyagi - bursts into life made up of young rebels who dare to wear bright clothes and dance to American jazz.
Amongst them is medical student Bob who smuggles Western music into the country by carving grooves into X-ray films, charismatic Fred who is hiding a devastating secret, the mysterious Polly and Mel, a loyal officer from the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League the Komsomol, who finds his world turned upside down when he falls for Polly during a police raid.
Drawn into their orbit, Mel transforms from loyal party member to passionate jazz musician guided by Bob and Fred. But as the authorities tighten their grip and their friends disappear one by one, these young dreamers discover that sometimes the only way to stay human under tyranny is to put on a bright tie, strike up the band and let the music play. From a company with lived experience of authoritarian regimes, Boogie on the Bones is a powerful reminder that in the darkest of times, art becomes rebellion and every song in an act of defiance.
The Stilyagi was a Soviet youth subculture which began in the late 1940's and was a form of protest against the conformist nature of Russian society. Following exposure to foreign cultures during the Second World War, many Russians began to adopt Western inspired fashion, hairstyles and music and would often meet on the main streets of Leningrad and Moscow. Soviet authorities attempted to control the movement through ridicule and propaganda (the term originated from the satirical magazine Krokodil), which portrayed them as enemies of the state and a threat to Soviet values.
Sofia Barysevich, director & founder of WITHINTHEATRE said ‘There are disturbing echoes between what's happening today and the Soviet Union in 1956. Back home, subcultures are being dismantled, artists are censored, and people are fleeing not for opportunity—but for survival. Boogie on the Bones asks a question that feels more urgent than ever: what does it really cost to be free? And is it worth it? That's the journey we're inviting audiences to take—with us, with our actors, and with every beat of forbidden jazz'
WITHINTHEATRE is a Slavic theatre company bringing together professional actors with lived experience in totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, creating politically urgent work that resonates with global audiences. On stage, they reflect histories of surviving systems of repression drawing direct parallels between our past and the present. They specialise in physical theatre, documentary performance, and the integration of contemporary media, crafting bold, immersive productions that confront systems of control and censorship. For the company, theatre is not only a form of artistic expression - it's a form of resistance, a call to action, and a stark warning of what happens when truth is no longer free. Their recent work includes a version of Nick Hern's adaptation of the George Orwell classic 1984 performed by a Slavic cast and Julia.1984, which picks up where the novel ends at Summerhall at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
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