'Amsterdam' review

Whereas some go to the theatre to be entertained, some to learn, some to be mentally and politically challenged, I would simply have been grateful to have come out of this impassioned theatrical experience understanding what vital message I had missed. Nicola Spencer reviews...

OUR VERDICT

In terms of a synopsis, not much had been given away before the play started. We knew it was centred around an unpaid gas bill from 1944, which was to drag up all manner of emotional and traumatic memories of the Holocaust.

The stage – in typical and endearing Orange Tree Theatre-style – gave no clues as to the story ahead. It had been pared back to a simple light-flooded atrium with a solitary desk and typewriter, a dusky pink velvet armchair and a freestanding microphone. The title was a bit of a clue as to the geographical setting, but except for the use of a few Dutch phrases (humorously and helpfully translated into the aforementioned microphone), and a sneaking suspicion that the script may have been conceived in one of those special coffeeshops by the River Amstel, the canvas was blank and the telling of the story was very much in the hands of the four actors.

In this respect, they did a great job. With their beautiful diction, natural expression and energy, the lovely chemistry between the four rendered the story fast-moving and immediate. The plot unfolds in a ‘freestyle storytelling’ style, that is, in a seemingly random, unscripted, improvised manner. One actor would take up the thread of the story from another, weaving more intricate, outrageous, challenging ideas to thrust the plot forward. It made you wonder if you decided to return to watch it again on the next night, would the story have changed?

Sometimes harrowing, then suddenly humorous, with a few rude words thrown in makes it, I think, more suitable for a 16+ audience than the 14+ which they recommend.

I struggled to find some coherence in the narrative, often feeling lost as to the way the thread of the story was leading. I wasn’t sure if I was meant to feel outraged at the current state of Europe or when it was at its nadir during World War 2. Was it highlighting anti-Semitism today or xenophobia generally? Or was that the exact purpose of the play – highlighting that we have learned nothing from the prejudice and persecution of the past?

Although there is no official interval, the set is enhanced in the second part of the play with the use of more props and background music. The action is physically centred around a slowly rising iron curtain. I am trying desperately to find a metaphor for something in that, as it would sound so clever, but I am afraid I have failed, and this lack of understanding on my part of the deeper message feels indicative of the rest of the play.

Despite the play coming to a mildly satisfying conclusion as to who ran up the unpaid gas bill, the journey there was a little disjointed and disorienting. I came away slightly confused and worrying if I had remembered to pay my quarterly utility bill.

Dates: 6 September - 12 October, 7.30 pm (click here for full information on the event)