David Hare‘s political and personal play The Vertical Hour comes to the Questors in a production that retains resonance with its Anglo-American discourse.
Nadia (Dina Fahmy) is a former war reporter, now an academic teaching political science at Yale. Her special focus is terror, in particular the war in Iraq.
Following a superfluous scene involving an obsessive student, Nadia and her boyfriend Philip (Pascal Orzabal), a wellness practitioner, head to his father’s house in leafy Shrewsbury.
Oliver (Paul James) is a doctor, charming but argumentative, and very anti-war. He engages Nadia in a cat-and-mouse conversation that first frustrates, then intrigues her.
The Vertical Hour is a product of its place and time, with comments on the lack of English patriotism feeling outdated, and mentions of the US president provoking knowing chuckles.
The staging in Paul Collins‘s production doesn’t quite work. There’s a table and chairs and a faux marble seat, both too close to the audience, with actors having to make awkward walks around people’s feet.
A large screen displaying pictures of women as war correspondents (Marie Colvin, Lee Miller, Kate Adie) decided to malfunction early on – the show continued without it. It was also unfortunate that we could hear voices from behind the curtain where the actors came out.
Much of this dialogue-heavy play is a two-hander between Fahmy’s Nadia and James’s Oliver, and both rise to the challenge, offering strong and compelling portrayals of characters hurt by circumstance.
The Iraq invasion now seems a long time ago, superseded by a constant stream of atrocities. Reporters and soldiers have shared experiences of PTSD.
Nadia’s description of the daily life in a combat zone, and Oliver’s story of an accident that weighs on his mind are both indicative of how the human spirit can break.
Collins, as director, interprets the play as a need for love, justifying the bookend scenes with students Dennis and Terri. Love, life and humanity simmer under the surface of this thoughtful piece of drama.
Philip’s resentment with his childhood, and perhaps even his career, is peripheral to the plot of The Vertical Hour but no less intriguing. But it is Nadia we watch, with her idealism coming under rapid fire.
I’m giving this 3 stars.
The Vertical Hour continues at Questors until 21 Feb – details here.
Photo credit: Jane Arnold-Forster