Showing @ Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 24 May @ times vary
The Great British weather and the 70th anniversary of D-Day are just two of the subjects that stick in the mind when faced with David Haig’s latest play, Pressure. But this co-production between The Lyceum and Chichester Festival Theatre, directed by John Dove is as much about the tangled lives of some of those instrumental in ending WWII, as it is about an incoming storm.
Beginning just before the scheduled date of the 1944 D-Day landings, Scottish meteorologist Group Captain Dr James Stagg (Haig) discovers that the conditions will not support the planned offensive at Normandy, putting him at odds with General Eisenhower (Malcolm Sinclair). But with the help of his secretary Kay Summersby (Laura Rogers), Stagg uses his knowledge of British meteorology to state his case for delaying the attack.
Haig’s ability to make this everyday subject so involving and interesting is surprising. While the topic is usually seen as a very British obsession, the weather’s unpredictable nature combined with the personal dramas that surround Stagg, Eisenhower and Summersby, make Pressure engaging and original. Tense, gripping and unflinching, the play recreates a number of clashes throughout the agitated few days. It’s these conflicts, such as the battle between science, logical thought, reason and emotion, and also between Stagg’s mild-mannered sensibilities and Eisenhower’s aggressive style, that make this play so watchable and unforgettable.
While a power struggle lies at the heart of this theatrical tempest, Dove’s focus isn’t just on the stormy conditions ahead but rather the uncertain future of the characters. For all its weather charts and reminders of the very real cost of war, Pressure is about humanity. As it explores the unpredictable side of human nature, contrasted against the more predictable subject of the weather, conflict is never far away as Pressure highlights the fallibility uniting us all. A visual treat due to the combination of Dove’s slick direction and Colin Richmond’s authentic period design, the final play in the Lyceum’s 2013/2014 season is a unique triumph that finishes an eclectic, varied but nonetheless impressive season.