The Old Country

Synopsis

Hilary is a British spy in exile, traitor to King, country and class. When his sister and newly knighted brother-in-law come to visit him and his long-suffering wife, Bron, Hilary is forced to re-examine his allegiances. A witty but bitter-sweet tale of fading memories, lost manners, and just what it means to be English.

Our Review:

21 March 2006

English Touring Theatre's revival of Alan Bennett's 1977 play joins their production of Hamlet in the West End after a regional tour. As a forerunner of his TV dramas An Englishman Abroad and A Question of Attribution, The Old Country focuses on an upper-middle-class spy in order to examine themes of betrayal, secrecy, exile and, above all, the nature of Englishness.

As one would expect from one our foremost humorists, there are plenty of witty one-liners and wry observations; but with no real suspense or tension it falls short on dramatic impetus.

The opening nicely illustrates the idea of appearances being deceptive. We see an elderly English couple relaxing in what seems to be their retirement house in the country - only later do we learn that ex-Foreign Office civil servant Hilary has fled to the Soviet Union with his wife Bron after being warned that his spying activities were about to be exposed.

In...

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Latest User Review

88.104.233.146) - 25 March 2006:

The night I saw this ACT 2 was destroyed for me by Timothy West fluffing his way through the climax of the play. All tension was lost and at one time I wondered if he was going to get through it.I felt great sympathy for him and his fellow performers who sat there and could hardly help. It made an old play creak more than it should have done....

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