Showing @ Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh until Sun 25 Aug (not 14) @ 14:15
Alon Nahsman and Paul Thompson’s play takes us inside the contradictory life of John Hirsch, the Hungarian Jewish refugee who came to Canada and changed the face of North American theatre. A man driven by guilt – Hirsch was the only member of his family to survive the Holocaust – and a belief in the transformative power of art, Hirsch was also a man whose temperament and cruelty meant he had many admirers, but few friends.
Nashman beautifully inhabits not just Hirsch, but his colleagues, family and lovers in a series of scenes that show the complexities and demons driving the director. At several points he allows Hirsch’s critical voice to comment on his performance – chiding it as shallow and superficial. Nashman’s performance however gets far beneath the surface of its subject. It is an absorbing, powerful and touching portrayal of a contradictory character which never resorts to simplistic Manichaeism. This is also a play full of wit and humanity which allows the audience to care for this difficult individual. Outside of the theatre world, Hirsh is not a well-known figure over here, but that shouldn’t stop you enjoying this touching, honest and revelatory little gem.
Well written review. Theses are few and far between.
Intelligent and thankfully the story is not revealed (after all, it’s a review not a summary) though the writer did let us know what it felt like to be in the theatre.
I agree that Nashman’s performance should not be missed. The play is superbly crafted – sensitively by passes sentimentality in conveying emotional range in the writing and the playing.