Juliet Stevenson is a powerhouse in an underpowered drama

Dorfman at the national theatre

The critics welcomed David Lan‘s well researched play about the Nazis’ policy of abducting children from occupied countries to replenish their ‘Aryan stock’. When a victim turns up years later at a woman’s flat and demands to know why she presumed to ‘rescue’ him from the Germans at the end of the War, she recalls the events of the past. The morality of her actions is questioned but there is a strong message that it is better to do something than nothing.

There was lavish praise for Juliet Stevenson‘s lead performance, Stephen Daldry’s direction and Miriam Buecher‘s set, but there was a feeling the play was too long.

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4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Debbie Gilpin at BroadwayWorld declared: ‘this timely production reminds us of the human side of war, and highlights the subjectivity of morality in highly pressurised situations. Gripping, poignant and, at times, chilling – put it on your ‘must watch’ list.’

Marianka Swain popped up in the Telegraph and commented: ‘Lan’s sprawling, near-three-hour piece needs a firm edit. But Daldry often gives it the heart-pounding tension of a thriller’.

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

Nearly all the critics would probably agree with Tim Bano’s statement in The Stage: ‘Stevenson is superb, conveying someone who cares deeply but brusquely, with a thorny moral absolutism that seems to reverberate through her body as physical agony.’

‘Juliet Stevenson gives a powerhouse performance’ said Theo Bosanhquet of LondonTheatre. He noted: It’s easy to feel numb to genocidal horrors but Lan humanises them and shows that intervention, however difficult the consequences may end up becoming, is always the right answer. In the end it’s a plea and a defence of good people doing something, and that’s a message we all need to heed.’

WhatsOnStage‘s Sarah Crompton described the production: ‘Stephen Daldry’s direction is devastatingly vivid, filling the small space of the Dorfman with an entire world of action and activity, letting still moments breathe. Miriam Buether has covered the long stage, with the audience packed around three sides, with a yellowing map of Europe, contested as the Allied powers seek to impose order and carve out influence.’ However: ‘the direction cannot disguise the fact that the play is too long, circling back on its arguments, and becoming over-extended and flat in the process.’

The Times’ Clive Davis declared: ‘If the occasionally baggy drama doesn’t quite justify a running time of nearly three hours, it’s held together by an imperious performance by Juliet Stevenson’.

Tim Bano for Time Out was concerned that ‘there is also a stiffness that stifles the emotion. It’s a blast of theatricality and a triumph of intellect which has obvious lessons for our times, even if they sometimes drown out the heart.’

The Guardian‘s Arifa Akbar had reservations too: ‘the pace is too slow (almost three hours) and the characters around Ruth are generic…And there is so much plot that it does not leave enough space for you to feel the play’s big emotional jolts, despite the stupendous central performances. Buether’s set design is superb, but its middle span of empty space does not lend itself to emotional intimacies.’

Anya Ryan for the Standard was a lone voice in being dissatisfied with Juliet Stevenson’s performance: ‘Stevenson, although as assured onstage as ever, seems to lack compassion.’

Critics’ average rating 3.2⭑