'Straight Line Crazy' by David Hare
21 April 2022
Robert Moses was a legendary urban planner in New York State during the first half of the twentieth century. He invented the concept of the State Park, transforming Long Island into a series of parks to provide leisure opportunities for the workers of New York, to the annoyance of the wealthy families who owned large swathes of the area. He achieved his vision with determination and impatience that didn't wait to be given permission to proceed, often literally bulldozing through, ignoring legal obstacles. And his obsession with the motor car as the vehicle of liberation (despite not driving himself) made many of his developments inaccessible to the poorest communities, with no rail or bus provision. Moses was a fascinating, controversial, larger than life character and I can see the attraction for David Hare, whose new play 'Straight Line Crazy' we saw at the Bridge Theatre in London last Friday. Hare has chosen to dramatise two particular incidents from the life of Robert Moses - in 1926 and 1955 - which form the two acts of his play. Both stories would have made brilliant episodes of the design podcast '99% Invisible' or BBC2 documentaries but they don't quite add up to a completely satisfying stage play. The writing is witty and entertaining but it often feels a bit too much like a George Bernard Shaw play where the characters have unrealistically lengthy conversations about ideas. Nevertheless, we enjoyed Nicholas Hytner's production and its great cast, which included Samuel Barnett, Siobhan Cullen and a show stealing turn from Danny Webb as the sweary, cigar smoking New York Governor, Al Smith. But the main attraction was the chance to see Ralph Fiennes as Robert Moses. I had seen Fiennes in the live broadcasts of Simon Godwin's National Theatre productions of 'Man and Superman' (reviewed here in May 2015) and 'Antony and Cleopatra' (reviewed here in December 2018) but I had never seen him in person before. He didn't disappoint: Fiennes is a compelling presence, a very physical actor whose movement reveals the mood and thinking of his character. His careful attention to gesture and stance reminded me of seeing Kenneth Branagh on stage in 'Ivanov' (reviewed here in September 2008). And his transformation into the older Moses of Act 2 is subtle and convincing. 'Straight Line Crazy' was obviously conceived as a star vehicle for Ralph Fiennes. It's not a perfect play but well worth seeing as an acting tour de force.
posted by Robin Simpson @ 4:56 pm
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