Daniel Nelson

 

The Vertical Hour

The Vertical Hour

Image by Park Theatre

In case you thought David Hare’s 2006 play, The Vertical Hour, is history and doesn’t need a revival, its final words produce an unnerving resonance as Britain gets another round of bombing underway in Iraq.

However, the clash of opinions over the US-led invasion of Baghdad between US academic Nadia Blye and her lover’s father, a Shropshire doctor, that gave the five-character piece a topical punch on its first outing is now upstaged by the personal secrets that are revealed in their verbal duel.

The political is not entirely subsumed by the personal, because although there is no denying the fiasco that followed the invasion – the stupidity and recklessness of the lack of planning of many post-battle decisions – it’s possible still to weigh the relative merits of non-intervention and of “responsibility to protect”.

Nevertheless, time has indeed moved on, even in eight years and despite current developments in Iraq and Syria. So what audiences draw from the play inevitably has changed.

But it’s a measure of Hare’s skill that his words still hold the attention over two-and-a-half hours of conversation: apart from characters walking on and off stage and an occasional hug and touch of the arm, there is no physical contact, let alone action of a more dramatic nature – no gunshot, no offstage scream, no punch.

Instead, we get intelligent conversation about fairly ordinary but fascinating lives. And it’s immensely pleasing. No wonder that on its first production in Britain, at the Royal Court in London, it was the fastest-selling new play in the theatre’s history.

Now it’s back at the always interesting Park Theatre and it’s quietly satisfying and well worth seeing. The personal may be paramount in the revival, but the renewed bombing in Iraq – and the likelihood of more far-reaching engagement – ensure that the political will stay in your mind as you leave the venue.

 

·         The Vertical Hour is at the Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 until 26 October: £19.50/£16 /£15 / £12.  Info: 7870 6876

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