Review: TERROR at Holden Street Theatres

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Thursday 20th October 2022.

Red Phoenix, which bills itself as "Adelaide's première theatre company", as it presents only works never before seen in Adelaide, is now presenting yet another highly thought-provoking work, Terror, first staged in Berlin in 2015. The playwright, Ferdinand von Schirach, is a German criminal lawyer and this version was translated by David Tushingham. It was adapted into a German language film in 2016, The Verdict, which had two endings, guilty, and acquitted, and audiences were asked to vote.

Terror is directed by Brant Eustice and Tracey Walker, who have assembled a strong cast and delved into all of the legal and emotional facets of the case. Such is the award-winning company's reputation for high-quality work, that the first two nights were sold out, and the rest of the season was 75% booked, even before opening night.

In this courtroom drama, lawyers and witnesses present their evidence and testimonies following the decision of a German Federal Forces jet fighter pilot, Major Lars Koch, to break the constitutional laws and shoot down a Lufthansa passenger airliner that had been hijacked by terrorists, and which was heading for a packed football stadium where Germany and England were playing. He was, consequently, charged with murder, as all 164 on board that flight from Berlin to Munich were killed, although he saved the lives of 70,000 football spectators.

Many would remember the television series, Geoffrey Robertson's Hypothetical, in which Human Rights lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson AO QC (now a KC since the death of the Queen, who is succeeded by the King), introduced a scenario, and a selected panel of experts had to say, under his cross-examination, how they would respond to that moral dilemma. He continually added further elements of information or updates, complicating their decisions.

This play sets up the moral dilemma but, this time, it is the audience, acting as lay judges, that has to decide on the outcome. The decision of the audience affects the outcome of the play and the way in which it ends in the Presiding Judges closing statement. All results from every performance of this play, worldwide, have to be sent to a central database for collation. I am not going to tell you which way the vote went on the night. You'll have to attend and see what the result is on the night that you are there.

Major Lars Koch faced a difficult decision. Should he deliberately kill 164 people on the aircraft, or allow the terrorists on a suicide mission to kill the 70,000 people watching the match, by using the aircraft as a missile? The German Constitution prohibits the Bundeswehr from taking action inside Germany. In 2006 the Constitutional Court repealed the short-lived 2005 Article 14, the Luftsicherheitsgesetz, or air safety law, permitting them to shoot down a passenger aircraft as a last resort.

Technically, of course, he broke the law set by the Constitution, so he was guilty of that, but there are other factors to consider. What takes priority, the law, or ethics and morals? Arguments flow to and fro as each counsel tries to convince the audience. There was plenty of conversation in the bar/foyer at the interval, after the presentation of the case from both sides, and before the counsels' closing statements and the Presiding Judge's summing up.

It is important to remember that, as a lay judge, your vote is either guilty, or acquit. There are no other options, and you cannot qualify your vote in any way. It is not possible to vote guilty, and ask for a lenient sentence. Sentencing is the province of the Presiding Judge alone.

The Presiding Judge is played by Sharon Malujlo, who explains the procedure for the trial, the background, and fills in the gaps, as well as asking a few of her own questions of the witnesses and the accused. Malujlo is a commanding presence in the role, creating a character that fits the role perfectly.

Major Lars Koch is played by Fahad Farooque, the character at the centre of the trial but not, of course, the most vocal character in the play. Like all courtrooms, the major players are the two counsels, and the judge. Farooque gives a finely balanced performance as the man caught up in the middle of legal arguments and ethical opinions, admitting that he broke the law, but insisting that he did the 'right thing' and attempting to explain his actions. Is he a murderer, or a hero, we are asked?

Bart Csorba is his defence counsel, Biegler, presenting us with a rather unconventional lawyer, with a disregard for the protocols and niceties of court proceedings. On the other side of the stage sits State Prosecutor Nelson, played by Rachel Burfield, giving us a more conventional approach to the profession. Although they both create believable and interesting characters, this is an intellectual play, rather than character-based, with the focus on the arguments from both sides, which they deliver with clarity.

An expert witness, who was in the control room at the time of the event, Lieutenant General Christian Lauterbach, is played by Pete Davies. He gives a nicely complex performance in the role, his reactions most enlightening, as both counsels, and the judge, begin asking awkward questions, for which Lauterbach was totally unprepared.

Representing the class action, and a witness for the prosecution, Franziska Meiser, is played by Kate van der Horst. Franziska's husband was on the flight and she is now alone, with a child to care for. Superb as a distraught widow, we get another side of the story, a personal one of loss, anger, and sadness.

There are two other characters who add to the drama simply through their physical presence. They are the Guard/Bailiff, played by Samuel Creighton, and the legal stenographer played by Ruby Faith. It would be easy to fall into the trap of treating these as unimportant roles, but not under the experienced directors of this production, nor in the hands of these two intelligent performers. A glance at either of them, at any time during the production, will show two characters fully engaged in the proceedings.

Kate Prescott's set is impressive, too, particularly the rear wall behind the Judge's podium, and the quality of Richard Parkhill's lighting should need no explanation to Adelaide audiences. Anne-Louise Smith has obviously put in a few hours with the hairstyles, too.

In short, this is one more excellent production from Red Phoenix that lovers of quality theatre will not want to miss.