The Week 22Feb2020

ARTS 31

22 February 2020 THE WEEK

Drama

Stars reflect the overall quality of reviews and our own independent assessment (5 stars=don’t miss;1star=don’t bother)

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Theatre: Leopoldstadt

Wyndham’s Theatre, London WC2 (0844-482 5151). Until 13 June Running time: 2hrs 35mins ★★★★

TomStoppardhassaidthat

Leopoldstadtislikelytobe

hisfinalplay,saidDominic

CavendishinTheDaily

Telegraph.Ifso,Icannotthink

ofamore“appositeandmoving

way”forBritain’s“greatest

living dramatist”tosignoff

thanwiththisepicyetintimate

familydrama.Stoppard,82,was

bornTomášStraüsslerinZlín,

Czechoslovakiain 1937 ,but

hisownJewishidentitywas

submergedafterhisfamily’s

flightfromtheNazis,andhis

widowedmother’sremarriage.

WithLeopoldstadt,which

rangesover50yearsfrom

Viennain1 89 9totheaftermathoftheHolocaust,Stoppard

addresseshisJewishheritageonstageforthefirsttime.Andifthe

playisn’tamonghisveryfinest,itisstillaprofoundlymoving

dramaaboutfamily,identity,andthecostsofassimilation.

Thefocusofthis“latemasterwork” istheMerzfamily,said

NickCurtis inthe LondonEveningStandard. In1899,they are

businessmen,lecturersand doctors who marryout,celebrate

Christmas,andare convincedthatassimilationandsocial

advancementarein reach forJewsformerlyconfined tothe

LeopoldstadtquarterofVienna.Aswerevisitthemin 1924, then

just beforeKristallnachtin 1938,and thenin a 1 955 coda,wesee

howtragically theyweremistaken.Theplayisbyturns“wise,

wittyanddevastatinglysad”–andPatrick Marber’s“warm,

emotionallynimbleproduction

drawsusintowhatcouldbea

dauntingsprawlofcharacters

andevents”.

Iremaineddaunted,said

DavidBenedictinVariety.For

muchoftheplay,mostofthe

charactersaremore“expository

mouthpiecesforideasrather

thanfullyfledgedcharacters”–

andit’shardtofollowwho’s

who.Onlythetighterpostwar

scenetrulyblazeswith

Stoppard’sbrilliance.Attimes,

thesprawlingcastofcharacters

andinterlockingrelationships

canbe“baffling”,agreedSarah

CromptononWhat’sOnStage.

“YetIthinkthatispartofStoppard’spoint”abouthowquickly

weforgetevenrecentgenerations.The“achingcentreofthisplay,

itsgreatplea,isthatitisimportanttotrytorememberandto

understand”.Itleftmeprofoundlymoved.

A“wise,wittyanddevastatinglysad”familydrama

Theweek’sotheropening

Deathof EnglandDorfmanTheatre,NationalTheatre,London

SE1 (020-7452 3000).Until 7March

It’s“b old”oftheNTtocommissiontwoblackwriters,

RoyWilliamsandClintDyer,toexplorewhiteworking-class

masculinity.RafeSpall’s“blistering”performancedrivesthis

“exhilarating,thought-provoking”one-manplay(SundayTimes).

Theatre: The Whip

Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (01789-331111). Until 21 March Running time: 3hrs ★★★★

There’s currentlya“mini-boom

in historyplays and period

dramas”delivering acascadeof

“ideas,knowledgeandenergy”

ontoourstages,saidDominic

Cavendishin TheDaily

Telegraph. AtStratford,the

RSC’slatestoffering isThe

Whip,inwhichtheplaywright

JulietGilkesRomerobuilds

acomplex butultimately

compellingdrama outofthe

passage through Parliament

of theSlaveryAbolition Act

of 1833. Herfocus is on the

Whigs’ (fictionalised) chiefwhip,

Alexander Boyd, who enters into

a“tortuous process of murky

compromise” as itbecomesclear thatcolossal sums(£20bnin

today’s money)mustbe foundtocompensatethe slave-owners,

some of whom sit in Parliament. It’s notaflawless play: it’s

unwieldy attimesand coulduse sometrimming. Butby the

end it hadmore than won me over:a“textbook exampleof

how to bring to lightafascinating subjectwhile avoiding

coercive simplification”.

The first half of Kimberley Sykes’s production is too“stately

in its exposition”,as the charactersexpla in themselves and

theircompl ex agen das, saidDominicMaxwell in The Times.

Everythinggelsfar better in thesecond half, as thepersonalities

andissues getclearerandthe drama turnsfrom“stodgy” into

pacy, “gripping andaffecting”asitapproaches themuddled

conclusionto theanti-slaverybill.There aresome“touchi ng

personal scenes”,and some

compellingmomentsofpolitical

argy-bargy.Theproduction

also becomesrather gorgeousto

look at,as thedesigner Ciaran

Bagnalllightshis attractive set

“withalluringdelicacy”.

There’scrackingactingtoo,

saidMichaelDaviesonWhat’s

On Stage.RichardClothier is

“charismatic andconstantly

interestingtowatch”as the

conflicted andcompromised

whip,Lord Boyd. Corey

Montague-Sholay is excellent

as the“angry, intelligent”

Edmund,whom Boydhas

savedfrom alifeofs lavery,

said Arifa AkbarinThe Guardian.KatherinePearce brings“great

humanity”to the part of Boyd’smaid, Horatia.And t here’sa

“magnificent”performance fromDebbi eKorley as MercyPryce,

a“formerslave turned activistwhose hair-raisingtestimony of

slavery marksadramaticturningpoint in theplay”.

Korley:a“mag nificent”performance

Album of the week
Sibelius:Symphonies4&6Hallé/ElderHallé £12.99
SirMarkElderandtheHallébringa“sympathetic,powerful
character”toSibelius’senigmaticfourthandsixthsymphonies
inthisfinaldiscintheirsymphonycycle,begunmorethana
decadeago.There’s“grandeur,warmth,andflashesof
exuberance”(Guardian).
©MARCBRENNER;STEVETANNER