John Le Carre’s 1963 novel The Spy Who Came In From The Cold is a cautionary and grubby tale rooted in the intrigue of the Cold War between West and East. The play now arrives at Richmond Theatre as part of a UK tour.
Alec Leamas (Ralf Little) has seen all his agents in East Berlin obliterated, the latest being Karl Riemeck (Jonny Burman) – his fate is strikingly portrayed on stage early in the drama.
Seeking revenge but tiring of spying for the ‘Circus’, Leamas is persuaded to take on one last job with the promise of a pension pot and the permission to leave the service on his return.
The set (by Max Jones) suggests both the imposing Berlin Wall and a constant feeling of being watched or overlooked. Azusa Ono‘s lighting allows the space to shrink or offers atmospheric moments.
Leamas is given a trajectory that places him in a drunken, unemployed stupor. Placed in a library as an assistant, useful contacts are made along with meaningful connections.
Young, idealistic, Jewish communist Liz Gold (Gráinne Dromgoole) allows Leamas to dream of a life away from the shadows of espionage. A life of normality, of family, even.
But the pressure from East Germany’s sadistic Mundt (Peter Losasso) and England’s George Smiley (Tony Turner) pushes him on a path that is full of pitfalls and puzzles.
The adaptation by David Eldridge feels faithful to the book, including a particularly tough and tense torture scene in the second act. Director Jeremy Herrin opts to keep The Spy Who Came In From The Cold contained, focused, and dialogue-heavy to begin with.
Humour has its place, and Little finds it, before becoming deeply convincing as a middle-aged man who realises where the strings are being pulled. The game of international spying cares little for collateral damage.
It’s partly a twisted Romeo and Juliet tale, where sarcasm and disillusion rule; partly a vicious and unhappy story of patriotism and duplicity.
It is also full of hallucinations as Leamas is plagued by visions of Riemeck, Smiley and Control (Nicholas Murchie).
Elizabeth Purnell’s sound design offers an uneasy mix of lightness and shade, underlying the message that risks are known, no one can be trusted, and the life of a spy is one attractive to “drunks, criminals and homosexuals”.
With a noirish feel that would make Humphrey Bogart and Richard Widmark feel at home, the lines are blurred when goodness and morality are concerned.
For Control, terrible things can be accepted for the good of the country. Costumes and colour palettes are mainly beige and grey – a no-nonsense corporate washout.
I can’t compare Little’s Leamas with that of Rory Keenan last year at sohoplace; in any case the major roles have all been recast for the tour. He has chemistry with Dromgoole’s Liz, contempt for Losasso’s Mundt – itself a complex, cold characterisation – and a cautious admiration for Turner’s enigmatic Smiley.
Herrin’s production digs deep into an era now passing into distant memory, without making it feel unreachable. Love, loyalty, and life are the mantras as relevant to 21st century life as 60 years ago.
I’m giving this three and a half stars, for its cold, haunting, staccato pace in act one and sense of mounting danger in act two.
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold is at Richmond Theatre until 23 May. For tickets here and for the remainder of the tour (ending 22 Aug in Bath) see https://spyonstage.com/uktour/.
Photo credit: Johan Persson