Wilma’s Rating *****
FOLLOWING A SOLD-OUT RUN AT THE ALMEIDA THEATRE, THE CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED CHIMERICA HAS TRANSFERRED TO THE HAROLD PINTER THEATRE THIS SUMMER FOR A STRICTLY LIMITED SEASON.
The thing I love most about theatre blogging is that sometimes I get invited to see shows that I would never usually choose to go and see. Chimerica is one of those shows and yesterday I was invited along to see it.
The idea of a three hour long play about Chinese war and politics did not excite me and so a glass of wine before hand was necessary. However, ten minutes into the show. I had forgotten it was even there.
The play is set in Tiananmen Square, 1989. As tanks roll through Beijing and soldiers hammer on his hotel door, Joe – a young American photojournalist – captures a piece of history. When a cryptic message is left in a Beijing newspaper more than 20 years later, Joe is driven to discover the truth behind the unknown hero he captured on film. Who was he? What happened to him? And could he still be alive?
The set was a delightful cube of lights and projected videos/images that cleverly rotated throughout the show, seamlessly changing scenes. A maze of openings and closings, the set moved to create different room layouts as it spun around.
It was lovely to see Nancy Crane. A lady who I interviewed when she played Mrs Wire in Tennessee Williams Vieux Carre at the Kings Head Theatre last year. A brilliant actress who shows her versatility in Chimerica.
This is undeniably a five star show in every sense of the word. The acting (for which I can’t pick anyone as being better than the others), the set and production and the incredibly important piece of history that is told through this story.
Go see Chimerica at the Harold Pinter Theatre until October 19th 2013.