The latest offering from National Theatre Live arrives at Altrincham Garrick Playhouse on Saturday 29 April, offering northern audiences an unmissable opportunity to witness the CP Taylor play ‘Good’, filmed earlier this year at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London. David Tennant (Doctor Who) makes his return to the West End stage in this powerful political drama, playing John Halder, a ‘good German’ who gradually finds himself being drawn into the Nazi ideology in the years leading up to the outbreak of the Second World War. His innate liberalism and tolerance is gradually corrupted, eventually leading to the betrayal of his Jewish best friend, Maurice (Elliot Levy), his embracing of fascism and facilitation of the Final Solution and the Holocaust.
A show with such intensity and with a cast of only four actors benefits enormously from the medium of filmed capture, allowing every facet of the actors’ expressions to be examined closely. Dominic Cooke’s direction juxtaposes the purposeful lack of emotion displayed by Tennant perfectly against the firebrand Elliot Levy and Sharon Small, dazzling in a myriad of roles and onstage throughout. Tennant is superb in demonstrating the detached unemotional nature of Halder, his conversion is all the more plausible because he is not a zealot, flattered by the Nazi’s into active participation in the abhorrent acts of genocide.
By the conclusion you may feel the title of the play should end with a question mark, ambivalence is the overriding sentiment that Halder displays to the atrocities perpetrated in the name of Nazisim, the comparison to modern political apathy is stark and obvious.
Word is obviously getting around as Altrincham Garrick Playhouse had an excellent audience for their last screening of ‘Life of Pi’ and future offerings are being presented directly from West End theatres over the next few months. It’s just a short 10-minute walk to the local Met, or if you are driving then on site parking is both free and plentiful. Add in a comfortable (and reasonably priced) bar for a passionate post show discussion (the coffee from Manchester’s own Spice & Grind is highly recommended) with friendly and knowledgeable staff, and we have all the makings of a partnership that will endure.
‘Good’ is not an easy watch, but the combination of superb central performances and a play that is both thought provoking and intensely relevant will certainly make this a Saturday evening to remember.
Tickets available on the link below for showings on Saturday 29th April at 3pm and 730pm.