My review of Michael Frayn’s “Democracy” is up at National Review Online. I’ll be doing some reviewing for them from here on in, mostly film. But I was in New York, so… what the hey? [I thought you said when people started to review, their careers were over.-ed. I thought you were fired!]
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what, you call that a theatre review? Where are the pointless references to George Bush and Iraq, and the uninformed speculation on the author’s homelife and sexual inadequacies, with the snide asides about the homophobic redstate christers not going to the theatre anyway cuz a all them queer actors? Get with the program son!
Welcome to the dark side.
I think there’s a large measure of guts on display to even attempt to stage a production based on such a niche (to me – all I know about Willy Brandt I learned while producing a couple of high school reports and various titles read about post-war Europe) subject.
I agree with you, Roger, that almost any play that originates in London suffers in translation – above and beyond the accent issue.
What video I have seen of Brandt did bring an impression of vitality, though. As long as the Guards armies were parked on the other side of Fulda Gap Germany went big (in the political/philosophical mein)when they chose leaders. Sad to see what has become of them these days.
If Schroeder isn’t beaten next time around, Germany joins france as a ‘small consonant’ place in my lexicon.
A better play – to my taste – was Frayn’s “Copenhagen” dealing with a meeting between Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg in the early 1940s during the Nazi occupation of Denmark.
Perhaps it’s because I, too, am a scientist of sorts, but I found the confrontation between Bohr as the Grand Old Man of quantum physics and Heisenberg, his star pupil and personal friend, now heading the Nazi effort to build an atomic weapon.
Frayn has the same sort of issues in this earlier play. What can we know about history? is a recurring theme. Who is ‘right’ in the moral sense? is right there along with the first theme.
The play is published, and there is a DVD of a performance. Have the book, saw the NY production, and DVD is coming for Christmas.
BTW: This meeting marked the end of the long friendship between Bohr (Father Figure) and Heisenberg (Rebelling Son). What happened in real life? Bohr dictated a contemporary memo claiming that Heisenberg told him it was time to stop hesitating, get on board and join the Nazi effort.
Sounds like Frayn returns again and agin the these themes. Since I’m impressed by “Copenhagen”, I’ll probably read “Democracy” and let you know.
Can’t afford Broadway prices…
Kudo’s. I saw the “effort” and your review was spot on.
Your pal
Gunny
Now here’s a book you oughta look at! Check out its celebration in today’s LA Times:
A harsh look at U.S. policy
The Colonial Present Derek Gregory Blackwell Publishing: 368 pp., $59.95, $27.95 paper
Dec 1, 2004
Roger,
Double adjectives can be ambiguous. You describe Frayn’s failure to agree with your one dimensional view of the left as “almost willfully unexamined”. Did you mean almost unexamined, if so -why the un? Did you mean almost willfull? What could that mean?