Ian Waller enjoys the Bath premiere of a new play based around a real-life wartime tale of espionage
Inspired by true event, Farm Hall tells the story of six German nuclear scientists held capture in England during the final months of World War II. Hitler is dead and Germany all but defeated, but the war rages on in the Pacific.
The relative – albeit boring – life of pleasantry and comfort for the inmates is shattered by the news that America had dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima in Japan. Suddenly the scientists days of theorising and competition are given a terrible reality, as they are challenged to understand how the Americans could have beaten them to the prize and, more tellingly, realise their own positions as the potential architects of armaggedon.
Farm Hall is quite simply a piece of faultless, fascinating and utterly compelling theatre. Across the board, the performances of six actors is of the highest standard, bringing to life a plot that examines how the characters, all real people with their own families, passions and dream, could somehow shielded themselves from the terrible human toll that their work was destined to inflict.
The production begins with the six characters desperate to keep active and entertained through anything at hand, from taking the roles in Blythe Spirit, to games of chess and studies of the local mushrooms. However, the divisions soon become apparent, with their backgrounds and political allegiances giving cause for conflict.
Once the news of Hiroshima comes out, so these divisions lead to arguments and debates as to how on earth the Americans could have beaten them, whose fault it was that the captured countrymen had failed and where the blame for the outcome must lie. And throughout the whole debate, each word is being recorded by their captors.
Presented as 90 minute production with no interval, Farm Hall is an absolute triumph for debutant writer Katherine Moar, and as absorbing a piece of theatre as you’re likely to see. Highly recommended.
Farm Hall appears at the Theatre Royal Bath from Wednesday 12th to Saturday 15th April. Tickets are on sale at the Theatre Royal Box Office on 01225 448844 and online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk