Tonight:
8°c
London faces a wave of bus and Tube strikes that could cause chaos for millions of passengers as unions walkout over pay and conditions
More...
An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Henry Hitchings's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Angus Jackson.
Cast: Christian Roe, Mark Elstob, Nicolas Tennant, John Hollingworth, Bruce Myers, Lizzie Winkler, Claire Price, Malcolm Sinclaire, Anthony Calf, Ian Gelder, Ian Bartholomew, Jeff Rawle, Julian Ball, Jonathan Coy, Jemima Rooper, RIchard Cordery, Simon Williams, Paul Freeman, Peter Sullivan, Alan Vicary
Description: David Hare's topical comedy-drama exploring the global financial crisis.
Times: Oct 7-10, 13-17, 20-24, 27-29, Nov 19-21 & 23, Dec 11 & 12, 14, Jan 5-9, 7.30pm, mats Oct 10, 15, 17, 22, 24, 27, Nov 21, Dec 12, Jan 6 & 9, 2.15pm, Oct 18 & 25, Nov 22, Dec 13, Jan 10, 3pm, ends Jan 10
Price: £10-£35, concs available
Trains: Tube/BR: Waterloo 
Phone: 0207452 3000
Website: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
A National Theatre should tackle national issues, and that is certainly what David Hare’s new play does, dutifully auditing the economic turmoil of the past two years.
The approach is similar to that of Hare’s recent dramas such as The Permanent Way and Stuff Happens. Interviews with key individuals have been deftly edited and assembled into a montage that resembles a passionate political documentary.
In a fresh development, though, the central character here is Hare himself — portrayed by a donnish Anthony Calf. The almost constant presence of this figure makes the play seem like a lecture, but indemnifies the author against the charge of hidden bias. The stage is bare, to suggest a stripping away of extraneous detail; Hare wants us to know he is not drowning in the flummery of the business world. Meanwhile projected images devised by Jon Driscoll and Gemma Carrington display the metaphors and formulae by which we know that world.
Over the course of just under two hours we are treated to a procession of opinions. These come from sources as disparate as economist Myron Scholes, journalists, traders, pioneers of private equity, Labour MP Jon Cruddas, George Soros and FSA chairmen Howard Davies and Adair Turner. All the while Hare asks questions — some naďve, others probing.
The explanations are contradictory and complex, littered with references to arcane practices and their proponents. Alan Greenspan is quoted as saying “the whole intellectual edifice has collapsed”, but structural corruption would be a less evasive diagnosis, and Greenspan’s own influential views are intriguingly linked to his affection for the “objectivist” philosophies of Ayn Rand.
Looking like a youthful version of Hare, Anthony Calf holds proceedings together confidently, and there is nice work throughout the company, with Jeff Rawle particularly engaging as a counsellor from the Citizens’ Advice Bureau — helpfully informing us that we should always keep up our council tax payments because “the bailiffs who collect council tax, they’ve been privatised, so they’re complete bastards”.
There are few such moments of humour to leaven the play’s dry subject matter, but the real problem is that it proves so diffuse. We feel we are on a whirlwind tour of the boulevards of finance; the byways are left unexplored. Characters are shunted onstage, prosaically introduced, then withdrawn. The drama lacks a true emotional centre and a decisive argumentative punch.
Questions are raised, but not properly answered. Still, as one expects of David Hare, they are important questions. What’s to stop the mistakes being repeated? Who, finally, is accountable for the economy? Hare leaves us wondering if governments and regulators shouldn’t become better at resisting the power of “yes” and learning to say an emphatic, custodial “no”.
Until 28 October. Information 020 7452 3000.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
