THEATRE REVIEW: Leopoldstadt (Wyndhams)
Apr. 30th, 2020 08:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grondficBelieve it or not, it's taken all this time in lockdown for me to FINALLY get round to reviewing the final four plays we saw before London's theatres went dark. So here's the first one, which I'd previously promised. Three more to come soon as ..
****
This monumental piece is vitally important for several reasons. It's Tom Stoppard's latest play, which - like many of his other works - took years to come to fruition. It might also be his last major work - he's hinted as much, and at the age of 82, might feel the need to retire. It's also (obliquely) his most 'autobiographical' work; and is possibly the one, in the writing of which, he might have finally found and accepted his own identity.
The author's own circumstances aside for a moment, it also serves to remind us - and hopefully future generations - of the terrible effects of the politics of Othering, as seen (in this case) in Middle Europe, late-C19/mid-C20.
On a personal note, I have to say that the play's setting (Vienna from 1899 - 1955) uncomfortably resonates with us, because the city has been our main holiday-base (almost a second home) for over 20 years. Thus, watching the play was akin to discovering the half-concealed dark side of a much-loved friend. Not that we were completely unaware - there are enough clues within the average Vienna-tourist-narrative; but this! … this was positioned deep within an outsider's insider-experience. Devastating!
And so - to the play -
We're essentially following the fortunes of two interlinked families - Merz and Jacobovicz - down through three crucial generations. Spread before us in the opening scene are members of the current prime-of-life generation, together with their elders (Grandma Emilia Merz and (offstage) the Jacobovicz parents in Galicia), and children.
It's Christmas 1899 as the play opens; a new century beckons, and the Jewish/Catholic household is brimming with goodwill and hope. Our lynchpin character - Hermann Merz (Adrian Scarborough) has 'married out' to Catholic Gretl (Faye Castelow) and is aiming, having made his fortune with the family business, to make social advances into traditional Viennese society. He now lives near Vienna's central, fashionable Ringstrasse, away from Leopoldstadt the district originally regarded as the Jewish quarter.
He's hosting an extended family party; and so we meet Hermann's sister Eva (Alexis Zegerman), her husband, Mathematician Ludwig (played by Ed Stoppard, the playwright's son), and her brother- and sister-in-law Ernst (Aaron Neil) and Wilma (Clara Francis). These peoples' lives (and those of the miscellaneous kids who are swirling around at the party), will give us an insight into the varying experiences of Viennese Jews during the C20. It's not comfortable viewing.
In spite of Hermann's optimistic assertions that here - Vienna - is now (since Emperor Franz Josef enfranchised 'his' Jews), the Promised Land; and that he and those like him may regard themselves as Austrians of Jewish descent, not everyone - even within his own circle - agrees.
'We're the torchbearers of assimilation' he declares; but there are already signs and hints that others in the society he's trying to join do not, nor will they ever, want him there.
Firstly, it transpires that his wife has a fling with an objectionable snob of an army officer. She visits him under pretext of going to portrait sittings with an artist (who is clearly Gustav Klimt, even though his name is never mentioned). The Woman in a Green Shawl will hang in the Merz apartment until 1938.
This officer will not even pick up Hermann's subsequent honour-duel challenge, declaring - 'Since a Jew is devoid of honour from the day of his birth, it is impossible to insult a Jew... ' It's worth remembering that this distasteful scene did take place, because later, Hermann makes use of it in a constructive way.
As the C20 gets under way, we meet more of the many Merz/Jacobovicz children. Pauli, son of Ludwig and Eva, gains a commission in the army and dies for his country in WW1. Jacob (Sebastian Arnesto) - Hermann and Gretl's only child - comes home from the war, but is physically and mentally damaged. He is, nonetheless the only heir to the Merz business.
The middle section of the play then traces the fall and dissolution of the intertwined families as Nazism violently replaces Marxism in Vienna. The house is looted and stripped in stages, first by mobs and then by the authorities.
Similarly, the families disintegrate; especially after a visit from a sinister functionary known only as Civilian (Mark Edel-Hunt). This man has come to send many family-members 'away' - including the small children. Further, he strips Hermann of the business, accusing him of making substandard clothing in WW1, and thus killing many Austrians (in fact the raw materials were so scarce that they made coats from nettles). Hermann meekly signs away the business; but later reveals that it no longer belonged to him - he'd signed it over to his son, and then had sworn an affidavit 'proving' that Jacob is 100% Ayrian - Gretl having conceived him as the result of an affair with a Hussar. Gretl (who is now senile) had also signed; and Hermann had paid an exorbitant amount of money to the putative 'real father' (it's not made clear whether this is the actual man she'd had the affair with) to induce him to sign also.
Nellie (Eleanor Wyld), Pauli's younger sister (a baby in the first act), has married Aaron a leftwing activist who died during the unrest at the Karl Marx building as 'red Vienna' entered its death-throes. It's Nellie who now escapes (via a hasty marriage to an English journalist), together with her son Leo. The boy is brought up in England, and is not initially aware that his heritage is fully Jewish.
The final act jumps to 1955 and we learn, from three disparate descendants of the family, what happened to all these people who have shared their lives with us. Leo (Luke Thallon) - fully anglicised - is visiting Vienna almost as a tourist. Initially he refers to Percy Chamberlain (the journalist) as his father and has to be reminded that his birth-father was killed by Austrians in 1934. Nathan (Sebastian Arnesto again), Hermann's great-nephew, has survived Auschwitz and returned to Vienna. His Aunt Rosa (Jenna Augen) emigrated to New York and has returned to try and reclaim some of the Merz property (notably Woman in a Green Shawl which now hangs in the Belvedere).
It's Rosa who has the Merz family tree; and between them, she and Nathan explain to Leo what has happened to the principal members of the family ...
I sobbed my way through to the end. The play is a masterpiece; but an agonising and salutary one.
****
This monumental piece is vitally important for several reasons. It's Tom Stoppard's latest play, which - like many of his other works - took years to come to fruition. It might also be his last major work - he's hinted as much, and at the age of 82, might feel the need to retire. It's also (obliquely) his most 'autobiographical' work; and is possibly the one, in the writing of which, he might have finally found and accepted his own identity.
The author's own circumstances aside for a moment, it also serves to remind us - and hopefully future generations - of the terrible effects of the politics of Othering, as seen (in this case) in Middle Europe, late-C19/mid-C20.
On a personal note, I have to say that the play's setting (Vienna from 1899 - 1955) uncomfortably resonates with us, because the city has been our main holiday-base (almost a second home) for over 20 years. Thus, watching the play was akin to discovering the half-concealed dark side of a much-loved friend. Not that we were completely unaware - there are enough clues within the average Vienna-tourist-narrative; but this! … this was positioned deep within an outsider's insider-experience. Devastating!
And so - to the play -
We're essentially following the fortunes of two interlinked families - Merz and Jacobovicz - down through three crucial generations. Spread before us in the opening scene are members of the current prime-of-life generation, together with their elders (Grandma Emilia Merz and (offstage) the Jacobovicz parents in Galicia), and children.
It's Christmas 1899 as the play opens; a new century beckons, and the Jewish/Catholic household is brimming with goodwill and hope. Our lynchpin character - Hermann Merz (Adrian Scarborough) has 'married out' to Catholic Gretl (Faye Castelow) and is aiming, having made his fortune with the family business, to make social advances into traditional Viennese society. He now lives near Vienna's central, fashionable Ringstrasse, away from Leopoldstadt the district originally regarded as the Jewish quarter.
He's hosting an extended family party; and so we meet Hermann's sister Eva (Alexis Zegerman), her husband, Mathematician Ludwig (played by Ed Stoppard, the playwright's son), and her brother- and sister-in-law Ernst (Aaron Neil) and Wilma (Clara Francis). These peoples' lives (and those of the miscellaneous kids who are swirling around at the party), will give us an insight into the varying experiences of Viennese Jews during the C20. It's not comfortable viewing.
In spite of Hermann's optimistic assertions that here - Vienna - is now (since Emperor Franz Josef enfranchised 'his' Jews), the Promised Land; and that he and those like him may regard themselves as Austrians of Jewish descent, not everyone - even within his own circle - agrees.
'We're the torchbearers of assimilation' he declares; but there are already signs and hints that others in the society he's trying to join do not, nor will they ever, want him there.
Firstly, it transpires that his wife has a fling with an objectionable snob of an army officer. She visits him under pretext of going to portrait sittings with an artist (who is clearly Gustav Klimt, even though his name is never mentioned). The Woman in a Green Shawl will hang in the Merz apartment until 1938.
This officer will not even pick up Hermann's subsequent honour-duel challenge, declaring - 'Since a Jew is devoid of honour from the day of his birth, it is impossible to insult a Jew... ' It's worth remembering that this distasteful scene did take place, because later, Hermann makes use of it in a constructive way.
As the C20 gets under way, we meet more of the many Merz/Jacobovicz children. Pauli, son of Ludwig and Eva, gains a commission in the army and dies for his country in WW1. Jacob (Sebastian Arnesto) - Hermann and Gretl's only child - comes home from the war, but is physically and mentally damaged. He is, nonetheless the only heir to the Merz business.
The middle section of the play then traces the fall and dissolution of the intertwined families as Nazism violently replaces Marxism in Vienna. The house is looted and stripped in stages, first by mobs and then by the authorities.
Similarly, the families disintegrate; especially after a visit from a sinister functionary known only as Civilian (Mark Edel-Hunt). This man has come to send many family-members 'away' - including the small children. Further, he strips Hermann of the business, accusing him of making substandard clothing in WW1, and thus killing many Austrians (in fact the raw materials were so scarce that they made coats from nettles). Hermann meekly signs away the business; but later reveals that it no longer belonged to him - he'd signed it over to his son, and then had sworn an affidavit 'proving' that Jacob is 100% Ayrian - Gretl having conceived him as the result of an affair with a Hussar. Gretl (who is now senile) had also signed; and Hermann had paid an exorbitant amount of money to the putative 'real father' (it's not made clear whether this is the actual man she'd had the affair with) to induce him to sign also.
Nellie (Eleanor Wyld), Pauli's younger sister (a baby in the first act), has married Aaron a leftwing activist who died during the unrest at the Karl Marx building as 'red Vienna' entered its death-throes. It's Nellie who now escapes (via a hasty marriage to an English journalist), together with her son Leo. The boy is brought up in England, and is not initially aware that his heritage is fully Jewish.
The final act jumps to 1955 and we learn, from three disparate descendants of the family, what happened to all these people who have shared their lives with us. Leo (Luke Thallon) - fully anglicised - is visiting Vienna almost as a tourist. Initially he refers to Percy Chamberlain (the journalist) as his father and has to be reminded that his birth-father was killed by Austrians in 1934. Nathan (Sebastian Arnesto again), Hermann's great-nephew, has survived Auschwitz and returned to Vienna. His Aunt Rosa (Jenna Augen) emigrated to New York and has returned to try and reclaim some of the Merz property (notably Woman in a Green Shawl which now hangs in the Belvedere).
It's Rosa who has the Merz family tree; and between them, she and Nathan explain to Leo what has happened to the principal members of the family ...
I sobbed my way through to the end. The play is a masterpiece; but an agonising and salutary one.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-30 07:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-30 07:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-30 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-05-01 08:28 am (UTC)Yes, I too am delighted we made it before the theatres went dark. I'm also so sorry that its extended run (till May) was cut short, and hope that it's able to resume at some point. If it does, I may even consider going again.
Three more live plays to go, and then I shall have to start reviewing (or indeed re-reviewing) all the stuff that's streaming atm. We watched the National's Twelfth Night earlier this week. Live - I'd not enjoyed it so much; NOW it was funny, dark and a proper ensemble piece. What happened???
no subject
Date: 2020-05-30 02:15 am (UTC)And, oh, how difficult to read about the terrible effects of the politics of Othering today, and what an even more important message, which I am hoping our generation/the next take to heart (although I am afraid we won't).
no subject
Date: 2020-05-30 08:15 am (UTC)Yes, this Stoppard is one of the most important pieces I've seen - certainly recently, and possibly ever. I do hope it comes back to complete its run, and that you can get to see it.
I feel that my generation (OK Boomer!) gave things a bit of a whirl in the 60s/70s (albeit with a fair dose of naivety - love and peace, man); but now we're back to the horrible reality that Othering is part of the political landscape. So I hope, with you, that things can and will get turned around.
Anyway thanks again, and see you around here on DW.
ON EDIT:
Just seen your rarepairs letter. I was a lolitician back in the day!
no subject
Date: 2020-06-13 07:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-06-13 07:44 am (UTC)Agreed about Keir Starmer; he's even causing a stir on Mumsnet!
no subject
Date: 2020-06-20 04:24 am (UTC)Hahaha! I mean, oh dear, the poor man. Still, I suppose it is good to know that should I ever write for him, my fic might be endorsed by the left-leaning mums of Britain. Although I vaguely recall that Mandelson had quite a following, back in the day. Less so Rees-Mogg, it has to be said...