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Written by Nadya Menuhin
Based on the novel by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz
Drawn from his personal experience, The Passenger was a novel by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz describing the flight of Jewish Otto Silbermann from the horrors of Kristallnacht in 1938 Germany. Nadya Menuhin makes her playwriting debut with the piece, but while Menuhin’s intentions in translating the book to stage are honourable, the result is a one-act self indulgence that lacks dramatic sophistication and cries out for the input of a skilled dramaturg.
Robert Neumark Jones is Otto in a performance of remarkable energy that sees him onstage for the play’s entire 100 minutes. The story follows Otto’s journey in a cross-country railway travelogue that sees him, futilely, attempting to flee Berlin. Simply staged with no scenery, Joseph Alford’s carefully crafted soundscape is as impressive as Jones’ performance. A supporting quartet of actors deliver a multitude of roles ranging from Otto’s Aryan wife Elfriede (Kelly Price), through to to both the friendly folk and also the Nazis that he encounters on the rails.
In amongst the dialogue there are snippets of a history lesson - but Tim Supple’s staging is too simplistic and at times disappointingly pretentious. In what feels like a sometimes tedious evening, there’s a hint of a great play lurking within The Passenger. This isn’t it.
Runs until 15th March
Photo credit: Steve Gregson