A Walk in the Woods, Tricycle - review

10 April 2012

Lee Blessing's two-hander, loosely based on real events, dramatises the standoff between American and Soviet negotiators during the Cold War.

Or rather, it sheds light on a corner of that standoff: we are in Geneva in 1983, and one member of each party slinks off to the woods for an informal continuation of discussions.

In Blessing's text both characters are men. But in Nicolas Kent's revival the American has been changed, with the playwright's approval, into a woman - perhaps a nod to the fact that since the Eighties figures such as Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton have redefined the contours of US foreign policy.

The Soviet negotiator, Andrey, wants to make the discussions personal. His American counterpart, the humourless Joan, is at first frustrated by his friendly digressions. But they gradually unlock her vulnerabilities. And each wrestles with the existential problems of attempting to control the proliferation of weapons that could destroy all humanity.

Steven Crossley satisfyingly conveys Andrey's mix of charm and cynicism; he gets most of Blessing's best lines. Myriam Cyr as Joan has less range but a sure feel for her character's self-righteousness and guarded stiffness.

Although Kent has preserved the Eighties setting, it seems he isn't using the play to illuminate the ominous antipathies of that period; instead he's obliquely addressing current anxieties about nuclear warheads getting into the hands of belligerent splinter groups.

The production chimes with the Tricycle's tradition of politically engaged theatre. Kent evokes the wry humour and intelligence of the writing, investing something essentially static and episodic with fluidity. At times a greater sense of volatility would help, yet this is a succinct, well-crafted drama that it would be wrong to dismiss as a period piece.

Until November 12 (020 7328 1000, tricycle.co.uk)

A Walk In The Woods
Tricycle Theatre
Kilburn High Road, NW6 7JR

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