Everybody has heard of Yuri Gagarin, the first human to orbit round the earth fifty years ago. But who has heard of Sergei Pavlovich Korolyov, the chief designer of the soviet space programme and responsible for the USSR’s successes? Rona Munro’s informative and well-acted epic opens with Korolyov (Darrell D’Silva), who having been incarcerated in a gulag for 20 years, is freed so that he can work on long range ballistic missiles. The drama comes from his confrontations with Khrushchev (terrific performance by Brian Doherty), the doctor (Norma Dumenezweni) who saved his life in the gulag and a sinister Red Army officer (Greg Hicks) who wants him sacked.
As far as the Soviets were concerned the only tangible benefits of their space programme was propaganda. Khrushchev wanted a Russian to be the first person on the moon. The cost in money and human lives was enormous. Safety was ignored. The money could have spent on improving the lives of ordinary citizens. Gagarin (Dyfan Dwyfor), interestingly, was not the best pilot; but he had the perfect proletarian background: he was a farming boy from Smolensk, the son of a tractor driver. He became an international celebrity, constantly touring, meeting world leaders and film stars. He just wanted to be a pilot again; the authorities kept him grounded.