Review | Breaking The Wall, examining East Germany's communist past, at The Spring in Havant: 'Mollett’s play should be more widely known'
Bench Theatre are back at The Spring this week with Stephen Mollett’s Breaking The Wall – essentially a Cold War drama revolving around an ex-Stasi prisoner and the truth surrounding his life.
Mollett’s play – an economic, tight three-hander – is worthy of note and should be more widely known.
It revolves around Hagen, an East German citizen now living in England where he maintains a farm on behalf of its owner. His daughter returns from a visit to a now-united Germany bringing with her a new lover who triggers something in Hagen – a wave of negativity – and the play explores his subsequent actions in light of his past experiences, the secrets he’s kept and his daughter’s changing attitude to her father.
Roger Niven as Hagen gives a taut performance. In the flashback interrogation-scenes we – like his interrogator – can’t tell truth from fantasy. It’s a performance steeped in distrust and fear which motivates his every action in the play. Good work.
Erin Offord as daughter Rosa is self-assured and convincingly prepared to turn her back on her father in support of her misunderstood and mistrusted lover.
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James Andrews in the dual roles of both Julius – Rosa’s new boyfriend – and the Stasi interrogator in the flashback scenes – plays both roles identically. This is no criticism of Andrews; it’s exactly what’s required. Can we trust Julius, as Rosa clearly does, or is he the treacherous, murderous agent Hagen suspects him to be? The blandness of both characters (again – no criticism of the writing or the performance intended) works beautifully; it confuses, it bewilders, it misleads. It also means that when Andrews has a throwaway comedy line, it works beautifully.
Directorially it could, perhaps, have moved further up and down the emotional scale and on occasions it becomes ploddy; more attack could shift this up a gear. Some thought should be given to the scene where Hagen attacks Julius, too. On opening night this was simply not convincing.
But – again – Bench are bringing something unknown to local audiences – and that’s always to be applauded. Support it if you can.