Hampstead Theatre – until 27 January 2024
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
3***
Tom Stoppard’s 2006 play still sparks in the hands of director Nina Raine. Jam packed with wordy arguments about free speech, politics – and music, the play spans the decades between the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and the Velvet Revolution.
Die-hard Marxist Max (Nathaniel Parker) is appalled when his student Jan (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) returns to Czechoslovakia. Jan appears wide-eyed and naïve about the reality of the situation in Czechoslovakia, and his collection of LPs he’s brought over from England is his main priority. As the oppression of inconvenient voices begins to impact on Jan and his work, he still rails against the moral exhibitionism of his friends open letters criticising the regime. When The Plastic People of the Universe (look them up – fascinating stuff) are arrested, he finally understands that these letters are the people’s only weapon, and the authorities’ repercussions for his actions are aimed at his greatest love.
Max continues to defend Communism, despite the Stalin blip, even when he witnesses the suppression of free speech in his visits to Prague. His materialistic views are a constant itch in his relationship with his wife Eleanor (Nancy Carroll) a classics scholar whose tutorials on Sappho are a perfect opportunity for Max to argue and flirt with her students when discussing the mind and body.
Nathaniel Parker is fantastic as the loud and bullish Max, while Jacob Fortune-Lloyd captures the changes in Jan through age and experience with a nuanced and engaging performance. Nancy Carroll is brilliant as Eleanor – spitting out her lines about cancer with fire and desperation and stealing every scene – and her daughter Esme in the second act.
The debates are often wordy, but zip back and forth with wonderful dashes of humour. Staged in traverse, the entrances and exits can sometimes be a little clumsy and noisy offstage, but Nina Raine’s direction keeps the pace from flagging. Scene changes are accompanied by a cracking soundtrack from Jan’s collection, with the cast dancing along with a slightly self-conscious energy that feels like an office party. The appearances of Pan/Syd Barrett during musical interludes are a puzzling but enchanting touch. Some of the arguments appear prescient, some feel very dated, but they all grab your attention in the hands of this magnetic cast. Of course, like Jan, you could just sit back and enjoy the music.
Rock’N’Roll will thrill Stoppard fans and is a real meaty, musical treat of a production.