Wilton’s Music Hall, 12 – 23 September. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
4****
Wales Millennium Centre’s production of Man to Man is a tour de force of storytelling. Inspired by the true story of Ella Gericke, who took her dead husband’s identity in the Weimar Republic era, Alexandra Wood’s translation of Manfred Karge’s 1982 play portrays the lengths to which a person will go to survive in a hostile and dangerous world.
Beginning with bitter pensioner Max alone in his apartment, complaining bitterly about the attitude of the unemployed loitering on the streets below, we are rapidly taken back to Ella’s youth, and her lost loves, before she tells the story of her brief marriage to Max. When he dies of cancer, desperately needing his wages, Ella buries him under her name in her home town, and begins her new life as Max the crane operator.
As political upheaval erupts in Germany, and Hitler rises to power, Max keeps his head down, knowing that he has an escape plan if the Nazis ever come for him – he can use Ella’s old passport and slip back into that identity. When Max uses the passport for a different purpose, the choice made is selfless and self-serving, as becoming Ella would kill Max all over again. This ambiguity of identity is always present as Max’s thick Glaswegian accent switches with Ella’s soft English tones throughout the narrative. The story continues throughout the war, the cold war, and up to the fall of the Berlin Wall, by which time Max has become disillusioned with society and his fragmenting mind intertwines his story with traditional German tales. The language is poetic and sometimes meandering, but these are the recollections of an old man, and Wood’s translation keeps Max/Ella’s history completely gripping and convincing.
This tradition of storytelling is mined beautifully by the creative team. Richard Kent’s design is deceptively simple, a chair and bed in a room with bare slatted walls and a single window is transformed repeatedly by Andrzej Goulding’s inspired projections and Rick Fisher’s lighting effects. As Ella describes the frost flowers on the window, they spread across the wall producing a magical effect that elicited gasps of wonder from the audience. The use of shadow projections illustrates some heart-breaking episodes in Ella’s story, and Mike Walker’s sympathetic sound design ensures a feast for the ears as well as the eyes.
The show belongs to Maggie Bain. She transforms herself with nuanced movements into a multitude of characters. Her physicality adds extra layers to the narrative as she climbs the walls, throws herself around the stage and squeezes herself into the window frame as she describes Max’s life.
A spellbinding performance to compliment this amazing story – Man to Man is a visually stunning and thought provoking show. Grab a ticket and see for yourself.
Tour Dates
Birmingham, REP 26 – 30 September
Edinburgh, Traverse Theatre 11 – 14 October
Newcastle, Northern Stage 17 – 18 October
Liverpool, Everyman Theatre 25 – 28 October
New York, Brooklyn Academy of Music 7 – 11 November