Donmar season 2021-2022

{Spoiler - click to view}
I’m disappointed with myself because I let the politics distract me. In as far as it goes, the politics feels unsophisticated but once you look past that at what she’s trying to do the work is interesting. Perhaps that’s what attracted Tom Mothersdale.

To make brief observations on the politics; in the passage where the woman was asked to compromise on her University lectures, in the modern world that’s pressure from the Woke Left (science vs. feelings). Also, in the modern world, fascism here is indicated, for example, by the aggression of the police, as well as them becoming armed. So, if the idea is pressure can come from both sides, fair enough. I also found the fascism thing unanchored, a bit … Children of Men.

So, the art. We seem to have an interesting structure of two time periods divided by about 100 years: fear abounds in uncertain times, barbarians are either at the gate (now) or have already climbed over (the past).

They' are requisitioning her home and they know her real name, they made a point of telling her; they’re all after them Jews again.

The consequence of looking at the past after the present, is that the 3rd Act - and the story arcs - all conclude in the past, as well. Which is tricky: the story happens now and then it all ends in the past. I was distracted at that point by the politics so lost detail.

It’s confident writing – great to see writers exploring structures. Good to see emotional violence portrayed, as well. And carved animals.

If someone can help with her rationale for not having a child (she’s frightened of giving birth because of events from 75 years ago and carries the entire Holocaust with her?). I mean we’re all fearful for the future, but that’s the story of human history: there has never been a time otherwise. Look at the 29th Century: 27 million Soviets died in WW2, the threat of nuclear war for half a century, two World Wars in 30 years .. it’s not a competition but, tbh, I’d take climate change. You live longer.

Also, anyone think the unnamed guy (Mothersdale) was ADHD? Did I miss the part where we learned what attracted her to him?

{Spoiler - click to view}
...in relation to the story going back, is that, in addition to the trauma that we are aware of, and all that/who "we know we are", we all also carry around this embedded, inherited trauma coming from the experiences of our ancestors, which we did not personally live through, but it shapes us. To my knowledge, there is some scientific research that backs this up. I understood that the story goes back to "prove" what I think she had felt all along: that their relationship wasn't meant to be, because there was something constantly standing between them. (There's a hint of her fear of that when they establish both their ancestors are Polish, from the same city - she is adamant that it would be better if the families had never met each other, and he seems slightly oblivious what she is pointing at, he seems to find the idea just an amusing possibility.) In the end, she literally kills him in the trenches of their own war, as a sort of a revenge act for the injustice that was brought on her family that she has had to live with all these years. And yes, hence the childlessness, too: from the fear she literally carries in her DNA. I think their acting conveys their burdens as well as positions of power well and quite beautifully, too: he is charming, so in love, naive and wears his heart on his sleeve, but some of the violence of his ancestors comes out in sudden bursts; she is much more cold and distant, and she has a bit of a demeaning view of him at times, as a remnant of her family's pride, perhaps?

In terms of the lectures, I don't think the pressure came from the "woke" (gosh how I hate that word!) left, but from the radical right: it was pressure to help build a culture of supremacy (think "white aryan", in Nazi times) by twisting the facts to "acknowledge" that "scientifically", I think the phrase they used was something like "that there are obvious differences" to highlight those "less suitable". That was my reading of it.

And no to ADHD, I think he is just... a poet. An embodiment of slight contradictions at times: determined, driven (perhaps even a little narcissistic), romantic and passionate one moment, a little feeble and gentle the next.