Reviews

The Wright Brothers

| London's West End |

8 August 2011

The Wright Brothers is a show of high pedigree. Produced by the Oxford Playhouse, it reunites the team behind their 2008 Edinburgh hit One Small Step and forms part of the British Council Showcase. These credentials shine through in a slickly rehearsed, beautifully designed and skilfully performed show about the pioneering aeronautical siblings; but David Hastings’ script never quite makes it off the ground.

The key to great historical drama is offering insight into the complex motivations and personal lives of the people behind the events. While there are some moves to differentiate the brothers (Wilbur the cautious scientist, Orville the impassioned dreamer), their characters remain heavily underdeveloped and the narrative never reaches outside a school textbook-style account of their progress towards successful flight.

There’s still some pleasure to be had from this lively historical storytelling, such as the vital innovations the Brothers made by watching the behaviour of birds. But the pity is that the Wrights’ tale should be truly inspiring, not least as bicycle repairmen competing against huge teams backed by major investors in the race for the first flight. This fact of their background is mentioned, but like much of the story is never brought fully alive.

– Will Young