Cleverly littered with historical detail
Tom Littler’s production of Howard Benton’s Churchill in Moscow gives the audience a front-row seat at the very unsteady, alcohol-laden, paranoia-driven negotiating table of Churchill and Stalin’s secret Moscow meetings of August 1942, writes Mary Bradshaw.
Staged in the round, the production leaves the audience no place to hide from the tension and huge weight of potential catastrophe at stake. However, Benton goes further than the suspense of thrilling intrigue, making broader reflections on the true meaning of power and the importance of language.
With Churchill and Stalin as the protagonists, it would be all too easy for playwright and actors alike to slip into tempting caricature – a ludicrous sparring match of hot-headed megalomaniacs would be a far too obvious choice. But the value of this play lies in its novelty. After all, laughing at pig-headed leaders would be nothing new for any of us. Instead, Roger Allam makes a far subtler character study of Churchill than many actors who have come before him – the Churchillian facial expressions and pronunciation of ‘Nazi’ do enough. Similarly understated is Peter Forbes’ portrayal of a Stalin hiding behind a bright-eyed ‘Uncle Jo’ persona with a warm Westcountry lilt. These more measured portrayals allow both actors to give us many different Churchills and Stalins: the public, the private, and the ‘foreign’. They also make the angry outbursts all the more terrifying for their unexpectedness. The light-hearted moments, too, are never farcical nor over-the-top.
Churchill in Moscow is not just a play about Churchill against Stalin, nor about defeating Hitler, Imperialism vs Communism, aristocrat vs peasant, a supposed British diffidence vs Russian directness. It’s neither about the frightening thought that with the peace of the Western world hanging in the balance, the temper tantrum of one person could tip things over the edge. It is about all these things and more.
Having ousted their aides and interpreters, Stalin and Churchill communicate through grunts, mime and monosyllables, evoking those famous words of ‘we will bury you’ and the ‘black dog’. They voice the more frightening ideas of what power means. ‘Never let them laugh at you, keep them afraid,’ Stalin says. Genocide is deemed ‘necessary’ because ‘without force, there is no civilisation’. Yet these ideas are subtly replaced by brighter ones.
The play tells us that without language and tactful communication, there is no civilisation. The interpreters Olga Dovzhenko and Sally Powell (played expertly by Elisabeth Snegir and Jo Herbert) save the day and save face. In one pivotal scene, Olga tells Sally that she has power: ‘You are the words.’
Benton’s script is cleverly littered with historical detail – from the suckling pig to Stalin’s tactical toasting – and, together with Tom Littler’s staging choices and direction and the cast’s powerful understatement, this critical political drama expertly avoids falling into ham-fisted cliché.
Orange Tree Theatre, 1 Clarence Street, Richmond, TW9 2SA until 8th March. Booking and full details: 020 8940 3633 (Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm)
