Gethsemane
DESPITE his disenchantment with New Labour, playwright David Hare must feel at least partly recompensed by the hefty wad of material the Government just keeps on providing.
National Theatre, London, 020 7452 3000, in rep until February 24
This, his new play, has already caused a kerfuffle because, while Hare insists it is “pure fiction”, his drum-playing PM Alec Beasley (Anthony Calf) has more than a whiff of Tony Blair, his party fundraiser Otto Fallon is reminiscent of Lord Levy (they share Jewish heritage and a pop-impresario background) and his fictional Home Secretary Meredith Guest could bear comparison with both Tessa Jowell and Jack Straw, none a stranger to family scandal. Which is probably why the whole thing rings so pertinently true.
Gethsemane is a play of its time, a superb lament against the lost ideals of government and the way political parties jump into bed with big business, as well as a study in how an MP’s career is so often jeopardised by their private life.
Gethsemane is a play of its time, a superb lament against the lost ideals of government.
The media hardly get off scot-free here either.
First of all we encounter the confidence-oozing PM’s crony Otto (given a wonderful self-satisfied turn by Stanley Townsend), who is recruiting civil servant Mike into party fundraising.
Next we meet exasperated Cabinet minister Meredith (a perfectly-pitched Tamsin Greig), who is attempting to stem a tide of family disgrace brought on by her rebellious pot-smoking daughter Suzette and her dodgy investor husband.
The two strands become entwined firstly when Otto is popped on the board of governors at Suzette’s school in order to squash the drug scandal and secondly when it becomes clear that Otto’s new employee is married to Lori, Suzette’s former teacher.
Lori surely reflects Hare’s views and is the only character to have experienced a “Gethsemane moment”, a period of doubt about her life’s direction.
She is disgusted by Otto’s modus operandi – he practically pimps out the PM in return for donors’ money – and saddened by the repercussions of Meredith’s career-driven life.
Hare faintly undermines his own position by making Lori alienatingly over-sanctimonious but the rest of the characterisation is spot on, down to Otto’s punctilious aide Frank who, played by the deadpan Pip Carter, might just provide the best performance of this politically minded, morally serious and immensely enjoyable night.
OUR VERDICT: 4/5
