Park Theatre 14 July – 20 August. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
In 1988, following protests by US war veterans during filming in Connecticut, Jane Fonda met with a group of veterans. Angry with her actions during the Vietnam war, and branding her a traitor after her 1972 visit to Hanoi, the men voiced the opinion of many veterans and their families disgusted with Hanoi Jane’s perceived betrayal of her country.
What happened during this meeting has never been revealed, but writer Terry Jastrow has researched Fonda’s story, visiting Hanoi and speaking to her guides to piece together eyewitness accounts of her visit. Jastrow’s efforts to show the diversity of the veterans echoes the stereotypes found in 12 Angry Men – a lawyer, a bonds trader, an Italian bar owner, an out of work alcoholic, a wheelchair bound former sports star and a minister. Their interactions are easy and funny, especially Tommy Lee (Mark Rose) and his fantastic anti-Fonda placard.
Anne Archer’s entrance as Fonda is very funny, but the initial swagger and smugness of the character almost made me want to slap her. This ultimately pays off as the play goes on and Fonda admits her mistakes, with Archer’s voice breaking and faltering beautifully. Archer has to deliver a lot of facts and statistics about Vietnam, using a slightly less hectoring tone than Fonda’s, and makes every gesture count in this largely static piece.
Despite all of this, Joe Harmston’s production can sometimes feel like a history lecture, especially as so much information is now available about Vietnam. Sean Cavanagh’s wonderful set aids the storytelling and impact of the horrific realities of war. A discoloured US flag and black floor, split by a white map of Vietnam, is covered with a list of conflicts from 1899 to 1988. The floor eerily recalls the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, and to see the cast striding over it is a little unsettling. Clips of events during and after the war – My Lai, the Kent State shootings and the Winter Soldier investigations – are projected onto the map as the cast discuss them. The clips of Fonda’s Hanoi trip are used brilliantly as she explains them, with Archer taking over from Fonda to voice the radio broadcast, before accepting that she was naïve and used by the Viet Cong.
The running length of 95 minutes means that the veterans’ understanding and forgiveness, or not, of Fonda seems a little rushed. The stories told by Reggie (Ako Mitchell – a passionate performance) about his injuries, and Rev. Clarke (Martin Fisher – providing the calm centre of the piece with great authority) about the truly shocking attitudes of the top brass feel authentic and contribute greatly to the narrative. However, when Larry (Alex Gaumond), Buzzy (Christien Anholt) and Joe (Paul Herzbourg) chip in, it begins to feel like an AA meeting, with their stories added simply to provide further examples of atrocities and unneeded background for their characters.
As each side begins to listen to the other’s point of view, lots of political points about blindly following the President to war and the profit to be made from conflict are made, drawing bitter chuckles of recognition from the audience. The anger within the men about what they have done, what was done to them, and how they were treated after the war never leaves them, but the barriers finally break down when Reggie and Fonda share a tender moment, showing the gentler side of both characters beautifully.
With a perceptive anti-war message and warnings about press and public perception of the truth, The Trial of Jane Fonda is an interesting production, with a talented and committed cast, but it has the feel of a well-intentioned docudrama on BBC4 rather than a theatrical play.