drama review

The acting in this production was patchy to say the least. Both Picot and Zappa shine and bring a real sense of legitimacy to their roles and scenes with them were generally enjoyable to watch. However the story revolves essentially around Jan. Scenes which required Newton to express any emotion such as when Jan returned home from prison to his ransacked apartment. I felt nothing and personally didn’t care for his loss. In my opinion as an actor it is your responsibility to make the audience not only believe what you are saying, but to make them feel and care for the character you are portraying. Newtons acting was sub par and frankly wooden for the entirety of his performance. He though was not the only actor not to connect. Chloe Armstrong’s performance as Alice also left me unimpressed In the final scene in Cambridge when she assaulted her stepmother, a scene that required a certain feeling of anger and resentment, ended up being nothing more than comedic. Picot and Zappa were radiant together with one scene capturing the mood required and moved several people to tears.

The set design was impressive. Speakers and moveable lighting was bordering the stage enhancing the feeling you were at a rock concert. However it was obvious early on that these were for aesthetic purposes only with little functionality. Book ending every scene is a screen displaying rock music videos from The Cure to Pink Floyd, these were intertwined with images of war torn Czechoslovakia. A marked change of lighting is seen between the first and second acts. In the first 90 minutes the set is dark with only the actors and any action being lit, as if to represent the mood at the beginning of the Russian occupation of Czechoslovakia. After the interlude the lighting is brighter as if to represent the end Russian invasion. The sound is generally good, although sometimes lines were lost because of the dreadful accents. The use of props such as chairs, tables etc gave a great sense of space, which was utilised generally very well.

The story I feel was extremely convoluted and directed at a specific audience. This left me in an utter state of confusion. I’m sure the story behind the play is an interesting and exciting one but I did not understand it. The director and the actors understood the story and people born to that era would understand, but on myself and people of my vintage the meaning was lost. This left me questioning the relevance or meaning of everything that was occurring in front of me. Another frustration with this production for me was Newton’s constant changing of accents, from a strong Czech accent to a British one. I assume this serves some meaning to the story but this was also never elaborated upon.

All in all this is not a play you would go to if you were not interested in European history, politics or if you are under the age of thirty, this is because the subject matter is extremely confusing and somewhat boring for those who are disinterested. The main storyline is also extremely complicated and allows you to get easily lost. The only thing to keep my attention for the arse numbingly long three hours was the spattering of music that entwined this production..