Hapgood

Synopsis

Vital information has been leaked to the Russians and female spymaster Officer Hapgood, along with her colleagues, is under pressure to expose the culprit. With only a former Russian spy and a suspected double-crossing member of her team in the frame the mission looks set to be brought to a quick conclusion. But will Hapgood’s elaborate scheme to expose the traitor be a success or is there more to it than meets the eye?

Our Review:

21 April 2008

At first Tom Stoppard's 1988 play Hapgood seems dated with its Cold War-era spies and clandestine meetings in Regent's Park. The first scene takes place in a swimming bath's changing room, involving multiple information drops with enough ins-and-outs of cubicle doors to serve a classic farce well.

However, Stoppard's play remains mesmerizing in Rachel Kavanaugh's revival as complicated issues of identity and the morality of the spy trade are explored. Sexual politics are also present, in the guise of the title character Hapgood, but little explored.

Josie Lawrence plays the title character, a single mother running an MI5-type department. "Hapgood is her name, 'Mrs.' is a courtesy title," states one character enigmatically. She is suspected by the CIA of being a double agent, but Hapgood's civil servant superior, Blair (Christopher Ettridge), thinks differently. Hapgood suspects an underling but is herself leading a different type ...

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Latest User Review

craig - 22 April 2008:

absolutely agree. Looking forward to catching it again in leeds....

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