Democracy london play

P olitical coalitions come and go, a central character in Democracy is warned, but your party is for keeps; so don't ever be so foolish as to risk the latter for the former. Michael Frayn's play, which debuted at the National Theatre in , was this year revived in Sheffield and has now transferred to London. Apparent nods to Nick Clegg's uneasy bedding with the Tories are coincidental. Current events have only given new pertinence to an old lesson. Frayn's play is densely historical, an information-fat study of the " Guillaume affair " that upturned German politics in the s.

The dialogue about coalitions — met with knowing titters on press night — comes early, when West German chancellor Willy Brandt Patrick Drury is struggling to hold together his government. East Germany, with which left-leaning Brandt seeks an entente, has put a spy in Brandt's government.

Highly recommended. Conleth Hill's Guillaume begins as eager-to-please, slightly smarmy, and, when matters of state are being discussed, as anonymous as a hatstand; but, thanks to the "ray of sunshine" that is Brandt's fellowship, he's a more questioning and self-questioning man by the play's end. And Roger Allam's Brandt is still more layered, as befits a man who spent the s and s using aliases galore: indecisive, impulsive, warm, aloof, innocent yet shrewd, and broader of mind and deeper of soul than the colleagues murkily manoeuvring around him.

Democracy in London at the Wyndham's Theatre previewed from 16 April , opened on 20 April and closed on 9 October A major revival of Michael Frayn's 'spy thriller' Democracy in London following a critically acclaimed run at the Sheffield Theatre. Michael Frayn's play takes us into a world of political intrigue, espionage and betrayal. Based on real life events during the final months in office of the charismatic West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, this political tale unfolds as suspicions rise of a Stasi spy infiltrating his inner circle.

Tensions mount as Brandt's precarious coalition government is pushed to its limits. Paul Miller's beautifully lit production makes excellent use of the stage as the politicians, all men in suits, complain and conspire while simultaneously professing their loyalty to Brandt, their complex leader, who combines drinking and womanising with a brave policy of reconciliation with his Soviet-bloc neighbours Once again, Frayn reveals his rare ability to probe the intricacies of human behaviour.

He is a classic Frayn character - big, important, larger-than-life, but ultimately undone by his own weaknesses, in particular his vanity One wonders, however, if modern audiences will love Frayn's complicated and intelligent work quite as much I do This may be something of a theatrical masterclass to punters over 40, but to anyone younger it may amount to little more than a group of men in suits giving a seminar on German politics in the Seventies. Patrick Drury is outstanding as Brandt, suggesting rather than impersonating the real man.

At the beginning of the play, Brandt is setting-up his new office. In time Guillaume uses his administrative efficiency and charming demeanour to worm his way up the ladder to become Brandt's trusted aide. Even when Brandt is warned that his personal assistant may be a spy, he takes Guillaume's family on holiday with him to Norway.

But in the end, Brandt pays the ultimate price for trusting Guillaume, though it was not to wreck his political career entirely — he continued as Chairman of the Socialist Democratic Party until and for a time was also a member of the European Parliament. Patrick Drury's Brandt is a charismatic, almost regal figure who is 'loved' by the West German people and, supposedly, by his political allies. However, the Brandt we get to know is certainly no untainted messiah.

He has a fondness for the opposite sex which borders on obsession. And he later suffers from depression and self-doubt. Aidan McArdle's Guillaume is almost Brandt's opposite. The contrast between the two leading characters works exceptionally well, and there's good support from the entire cast, especially William Hoyland as Herbert Wehner, the party 'fixer' who is not afraid to get his hands dirty by sticking them down the political toilet.

On a stage which is precipitously raked and thrusts out well past the proscenium arch and into the front stalls, a couple of desks and chairs, a conference table, and numerous boxes of files are strategically placed about the stage to form offices and meeting rooms.

However, everything else in Simon Daw's design is jet black. And the compulsory smoke drifts over the gloomy setting before the show begins, suggesting conspiracy, foreboding and dark deeds done by men in grey suits at the dead of night.