Theatre Review - Farm Hall
| David Yelland and Forbes Masson in Farm Hall [Alex Brenner] |
KATHERINE Moar’s enthralling Second World War drama, Farm Hall explores the moral dilemmas behind the race to develop nuclear weapons. Originating at the tiny powerhouse Jermyn Street Theatre, Stephen Unwin’s perceptive production seamlessly transfers to the West End.
In the summer of 1945, the allies interned 10 German scientists at Farm Hall, a rundown country house in Cambridgeshire – cleverly evoked by the peeling wallpaper in Ceci Calf’s drawing room design. Six of them were key members of Hitler’s Uranium Club.
Farm Hall was bugged, so the allies presumably listened to the detainees, stultified by boredom, killing time. We too eavesdrop on the men as they squabble, play chess, mend a broken piano, enact Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit, and demonstrate the science behind the bubbles in champagne.
Their inertia is shattered by the news that the Americans have dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Despite its head start, Germany failed to produce a nuclear weapon. However, in various ways, the six men contributed to the research that helped America win the war.
Hahn (Forbes Masson), who discovered nuclear fission, is ashamed. Knowing the probable extent of the devastation, he feels responsible. Others worry about how the “victory” will reflect on them and whether they will be allowed to work again in their chosen fields.
Most want to distance themselves from Hitler’s fascist regime but some, like Diebner (Julius D’Silva), were a willing, card-carrying party member.
Did Heisenberg (Alan Cox) fail to calculate the correct amount of Uranium-235 needed for a nuclear weapon or did he sabotage the project?
It is the scientists’ interactions, their different, sometimes competing, loyalties, that makes Farm Hall so fascinating. Archie Backhouse, Daniel Boyd, and David Yelland complete the winning ensemble.
Until August 31