A German Life at The Bridge Theatre

A German Life written by Christopher Hampton is drawn from the life and testimony of Brunhilde Pomsel, secretary to Joseph Goebbels.  She lived to the grand old age of 106, dying on Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27th 2017.  This play is based on a documentary film of the same name and, it has to be said is not the greatest piece of dramatic art, in that it is solely a static monologue.

But, and this is the big BUT, the monologue is delivered by one of our greatest actresses, Dame Maggie Smith, making the 95 minutes spent at The Bridge Theatre a very special theatrical experience.  One of our well-known theatrical critics suggests that Smith’s celebrity impedes the believability of the character portrayed, but surely he is forgetting something.  Bearing in mind that Pomsel herself is not necessarily a likeable character and that she spends the entire play sitting in a chair trying to recount her life and make us believe she had no idea of what was going on in Nazi Germany, a lesser-known actress would hardly persuade people to buy a ticket.  Whereas the wondrous Maggie Smith has sold out the entire production.  Another critic of renown makes the observation that at 84, Dame Maggie is too young to portray a woman of 106.  Mmmm, I’m not sure there are many centenarians treading the boards.

For the entire length of the play, Smith holds us enthralled.  Dressed in blue and constantly fingering the reading glasses she holds, a prop to actually remember her lines or a ploy her character is using to remember her life, I’m not sure, but remember she does.  She portrays Pomsel as a woman who was simply swept along by events, like everyone else and Smith’s skill is making us believe that maybe, just maybe, this elderly German lady really didn’t know that the Nazi party of which her boss was Reich Minister of Propaganda, was responsible for the annihilation of thousands of Jews.  Mind you, there is one chink in Pomsel’s nice old lady armor, when her recollections cause her to utter the words, “You won’t make me feel guilty” and she retorts “Nor do I buy that crap about the guilt of the German people”. Can this outpouring just be a way for her to clear her conscience?  Is the wrinkled little old lady in front of us an unrepentant liar?

Whilst Jonathan Kent has his actress sitting still for the entire play, the stage itself edges forward imperceptibly. In fact, it is such a slow process that, sitting at the side, I was unaware of the movement until I realised Maggie Smith’s always watchable face wasn’t as much in my line of vision as before.

There will be criticisms about our grand veteran’s performance, but they won’t come from me.  Her ability as an actor is as vibrant as ever and I defy anyone a third of her age to be as sprightly on leaving her chair and moving upstage as Dame Maggie.  What a joy it has been to witness this masterclass in holding an audience in the palm of one’s hand.

Downstate at The Dorfman

Bruce Norris confronts the uncomfortable, no more so than with his latest play, Downstate, a joint production between Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company and The National Theatre.  Currently playing at the Dorfman and directed by Pam MacKinnon, Downstate is set in an unprepossessing single storey house in the State of Illinois, where four convicted sex offenders are living, following their release from prison.  The subject matter alone is enough to put some people off and if you add to this Norris’s decision not to write a vengeful play, one might be forgiven for giving this production a very wide berth.  However, I for one, am very glad I didn’t take the synopsis of Downstate at face value and, instead, chose to see it on the strength of the playwright’s brilliant, if disturbing writing, which always contains its fair share of humour.

The inhabitants of this group home for sex offenders are a mismatched bunch.  Wheelchair bound Fred (Francis Guinan) whose mild manner belies the fact that he molested two of his pre-teen piano students.  Gio (Glenn Davis), a bible-quoting rapist who has a seemingly short fuse.  Dee (K Todd Freeman) a gay ex- dancer who insists that his sexual relationship with a fourteen year old cast member was consensual.  Solitary Felix (Eddie Torres) a Latino who violated his own daughter and is constantly thinking of how he can reconnect with her.  Not an auspicious bunch by any means and it falls upon Probation Officer, Ivy (Cecilia Noble) to monitor their behaviour.

The play opens with Fred receiving a confrontational visit from one of his aforementioned students, Andy (Tim Hopper) and his wife Em (Matilda Ziegler).  Resentful and paranoid in case no one should believe he suffered rape at the hands of his piano teacher, and egged on by Em, Andy aims to furnish his rapist with a “reconciliation contract”.

This provocative play is not an easy watch.  But Norris’s rich, uncompromising language and the expert ensemble acting, means that two important questions – how long and to what extent do we expect a paedophile to suffer for his heinous acts and, equally, what is deemed an acceptable length of time for victims to nurse their suffering? – are brought out into the open.  Norris, in his own ambiguous way, makes it very difficult to judge who should receive our sympathy.  As soon as it appears that the case against the almost childlike Fred might be slightly reduced, he has him reach out to touch Andy’s arm.  The humanising of the abuser highlights how easy it is for their victims to be groomed.

As I’ve mentioned, the cast are exemplary, but special mention must be made of K. Todd Freeman.  His ability to amuse with flamboyant arm flourishes, hint at the volatility of his character and also shed real tears, is a joy to watch.  Likewise, Francis Guinan, perfects the insidiousness and creepiness of someone who really should not be taken at face value.

Uncomfortable watching it may be, but Downstate raises very awkward questions about an extremely disturbing subject in a very thought provoking way.