Patriots – Almeida / Noel Coward Theatre

I would concur with the previous post. Although the plot is basically 90% culled from historical events - or their differing interpretation by various players - this is indeed a fascinating account of a time of turmoil in Russia and the former Soviet Union which, sadly, has us wondering about what-ifs and what-might-have-been if things had been handled differently.

Morgan has chosen to call this play "Patriots" and give it a slant which considers different forms of patriotism. In making his selections, the playwright has given us his version of a set of truths for dramatic effect and, whilst probably much closer to the truth than (say) Shakespeare's Macbeth, undoubtedly Berezovsky's patriotism and sense of purpose have been exaggerated to create a tragic hero from a rather more shabby real figure. He needs to be heroic so we can contrast him with the cold, calculating amoral or faux moral Putin.

It did not feel overlong in any way, difficult to see what could be cut without mutilating the play, and the solid ensemble performances are topped by a strong one from Will Keen and a towering one from Tom Hollander; at times a mountebank, at times a shaman showing the art of the possible with his mathematical notions of infinity. Excellent staging, good use of lights, sound, music, multi-media - the whole kaboodle. Goold and Maria Friedman have delivered a pretty stunning production.

Quibbles: if you are going to do a play where the actors should be speaking in a foreign language in British regional accents you must have ALL the characters following the rule, else have them all speaking English with "appropriate" foreign accent. Second (stronger) quibble - and this is for the audiences and not the production team - this is NOT pantomime! You DO NOT hiss the villain at a curtain call in serious theatre! It's the actor you are booing, not the character.

This was as good as at the Almeida. Will Keen is excellent reprising his Olivier winning performance. Tom Hollander and Luke Thallon also great.

Really enjoyed this, beautifully written with excellent performances from Will Keen and Luke Thallon, and Tom Hollander with a really outstanding performance. A couple of minor quibbles - there is no Nobel prize in Mathematics, and they had the judge wearing a barrister’s wig (why do they always do this?) I do understand that we shouldn’t boo excellent actors providing superlative performances, and of course I didn’t, but it did feel very odd to be applauding “Putin.”

I was late to the party with this one, but I saw it tonight and really enjoyed it. Great performances from Hollander and Keen. I was in front row DC and the view was perfect.
On a side note, is Hollander wearing a bald cap or has he had the center of his head shaved?

I agree with your post.

Caught it Tuesday night and while the second act had some merit following a meandering and sometimes confusing first act, I would have liked it more if both acts had cut between 10-15 mins out. 

Really enjoyed this last night. Thought it would be a bit dull but actually I found it really engaging and easy to follow. Agree it could be 20 mins shorter as some parts did drag on a bit and the lack of Russian accents was a little distracting.

Also pleasantly surprised to see Evelyn Miller in a production again. Last time was when I saw Cyrano at BAM. Tom Hollander was outstanding as usual as were the rest of the cast.

Well worth a watch.

22 June. Seat B3 in Royal Circle. Slight restriction of stage left. Three Stars. I wish Caryl Churchill had written this instead.

I had seen this at the Almeida and enjoyed it - not great but not bad, so when I was offered a ticket from a friend I happily went to see it again. And I fled at the interval. What had a kinetic theatrical energy at the Almeida felt staid and tired at the Coward. Tom Hollander was terrific but everyone else seemed to be walking through it and the gimmicky noisy transitions between scenes were just that: gimmicky and noisy. There were plenty of empty seats so I have to wonder if it will be able to fill out its run. This is just one of those times where maybe they shouldn't have made the transfer. The play is like an illustrated Wikipedia entry.

I found this be some bullet points of history and not to have much depth . Not a terrible night of theatre though, I'm just glad I didn't pay top wack

Broadway transfer now confirmed…Barrymore Theatre, previews starting April 1.

Will Keen and Luke Thallon are transferring, but Tom Hollander sadly won’t. His role will be played by Michael Stuhlbarg. I’ve checked that Tom is also starring in the upcoming anthology miniseries Feud (created by Ryan Murphy), in which the second part is about Truman Capote and the New York socialites (Tom is playing Truman). Feud is set to premiere in a few days in the US and it’s expected to be an awards player for the Emmys.

Check out Patriots Broadway website here: patriotsbroadway.com/

Hopefully I get to check this out. Stuhlbarg has been in great stuff as well, the one I remembered was in the Coen Brothers’ film, A Serious Man.

He was terrific as the father in Call Me By Your Name.