A Russian in the Woods

Synopsis

Amongst the ruins of post War Berlin, a young soldier is sent for a weekend to guard a deserted British Army office. In the corrosive atmosphere of Cold War power struggles, he innocently finds himself caught up in a situation where his conscience is on trial.

Our Review:

6 April 2001

Note: This review dates from April 2001 and the production's original Stratford-upon-Avon run.

Loud cries of "Bravo!" rang out in The Other Place at the conclusion of the world premiere of Peter Whelan's new play A Russian in the Woods. In 1950 the author, as a 19-year-old National Service-man, was posted to Berlin - a political innocent plunged into the maelstrom of the Cold War. And that's exactly the situation of young Pat Harford, the central character of this funny, sad, evocative and ultimately exciting play.

Though that's about as far as the autobiography goes. In the play, Harford is left to guard a British army barracks in Berlin over a weekend. He battles to keep boredom at bay - first by the attempted seduction of a sad, beautiful, desperate German girl, hauntingly played by Anna Madeley, and later by inviting back an American GI he meets in a bar, an invitation which has devastating consequences.

The acting is...

Read more of the review

Latest User Review

No reviews yet

Click here to add your review