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Based on the memoirs of Wladyslaw Szpilman, The Pianist tells the story of a Jewish man who survived in a Warsaw ghetto during the war. Better known as Roman Polanski鈥檚 Oscar-winning film, this new production was created by Mikhail Rudy, a concert pianist whose own family suffered persecution from Stalin.

Pianist Mikhail Rudy (Pic: Joel Fildes)

Inspired by the memoirs, Rudy decided to retell Szpilman鈥檚 story using extracts from the text and music by Chopin.

The 1830鈥檚 warehouse at the Museum of Science and Industry provided an atmospheric setting for the performance. The audience, led by torch light, made their way up the stairs into a dark, dusty attic, where they would be hidden away from the world, just as Szpilman had been.

Outside, the thunder of trains rumbled. Inside, a grand piano awaited its pianist.

Out of the shadows came Rudy, the pianist, and the narrator, Peter Guinness, who between them would share Szpilman鈥檚 experiences of suffering and survival.

The production started and finished with the same composition by Chopin. In-between came the haunting words of Wladyslaw, read with great care and conviction by Guinness. Where the words ended, music followed, filling the air with sadness, but also with a means by which to escape from the horror that was unfolding.

Although this was very much Szpilman鈥檚 story, you could not help but feel the sorrow that was escaping from the pianist before you. Like Szpilman, Rudy had taken much comfort from his piano during his darkest days as a child moving from one place to another in order to survive.

But in this meeting of music and memoir, Rudy created a powerful performance that portrays the strength of survival that is found in amongst the depths of despair. Shocking and beautiful, this was a stunning production.