REVIEW: Guest Reviewer Kym Vaitiekus Shares His Thoughts On THE LEHMAN TRILOGY
The National Theatre and Neal Street Productions bring THE LEHMAN TRILOGY to The Theatre Royal
By: Jade Kops Mar. 07, 2024
Saturday 2nd March 7pm 2024, Theatre Royal Sydney
The National Theatre and Neal Street Productions bring THE LEHMAN TRILOGY to The Theatre Royal, following successful runs in London and New York. Written by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power, and directed by multi-award-winning director Sam Mendes with five Tony Award wins, including Best Play, 2022.
The three parts: THREE BROTHERS, FATHERS AND SONS, THE IMMORTAL follow the history of the making of the Lehman empire spanning just over 150 years.
As immigrants from Bavaria, planning to make a life in America, they begin as cotton brokers.
Then diversifying to other businesses to expand and grow their wealth.
Having then to survive yellow fever and the civil war, to navigating a modern world, then being part of the famous financial collapse of 2008.
Following the family tree, we see them deal with brotherly love and personal clashes, selecting a suitable wife, the generational gap over the various societal ages, to passing down their unique ‘plan for life’.
The Australian production cast, Aaron Krohn, Howard Overshown, and Adrian Schiller are a tour de force. Taking expert command of the, dialogue heavy, three-hour production. These performances are the engaging and compelling ingredients that makes this a fine piece of theatre.
They portray the generations of the main Lehman men, that lead with their business finesse. They also become the various minor characters.
Krohn, Overshown and Schiller are equally masterful in embodying their roles as the Lehman generations of men. They command the minor roles with aplomb, fleshing out these characters with detail and humour.
In the vein of Shakespeare, the three cast members play many roles that include characters of various ages, genders and race. This begat hilarity from the audience making those characters a parody or as if part of a panto, not quite fitting with the gravatas of the night, although it did provide light relief.
The work stems from a nine-hour radio play. In keeping with its origins, the characters speak their actions while executing those moves. This gives rise to layers and complexity of these characters. This narrative technique extends to describing the various locations throughout the 150 year tale.
This ensemble has mastered this style of performance perfectly, the first Lehman’s American office is created before our very eyes as Overshown’s description beautifully builds his surrounding office.
Mendes not only directs this fine cast but has created an engaging and magisterial theatrical ‘tone’, it’s a captivating experience.
His melding of the piano with the set and the cast over this three-hour production is an expert feat. One feels the passion, energy, and commitment that flowed through the Lehman brother’s ancestry.
Es Devlin’s impressive set design wonderfully supports and enhances the family’s journey. The see-through steel and glass office perfectly creates the environment of business kings, while allowing the backdrop screen to ground us the era of each of the scenes portrayed. This transparent boardroom gives us a blank canvas for when the characters eloquently narrate the location from which they speak. This one rotating set with the actors impassioned scene descriptions, takes us through multiple locations.
The office cardboard box containers, that we associate with the images of finance companies collapsing are also the building blocks of this money empire. A clever insightful piece of symbolism.
Jon Clark’s lighting is perfect in creating the mis-en-scene of this banking domain, it’s technically flawless, so we are captivated by the performances and inspired by the video work of Luke Halls.
Nick Powell’s work as Composer and Sound Designer fits like a perfectly tailored suit that floats with a dreamlike quality. Along with some recorded audio the performance is accompanied by Pianist Cat Beveridge. Reminiscent of original cinema, her playing is another element of ‘tailored finery’, her performance is impeccable.
These elements give rise to the monotone colour palate to set us in a time gone by and to portray the austerity of the modern business world.
Ben Power’s script is thought-provoking with the telling of the Lehman Brothers story, but also in how it’s been presented. This tale cannot include all the facts of the many lives of the brothers spanning 150 years.
But what of the omissions. There is little mention that the cotton industry was built on the backs of the slavery era. There are no examples of the brothers being philanthropic.
It almost has a docudrama sense, where the story unfolds but without a particular perspective. Is it purely a story of business success that an unexpected ending?
What is Power saying with this work?
If you are opposed to capitalism, then you could interpret their business plan as one that exploits the honest workers. If you’re a CEO, you would be impressed with their business prowess and their remarkable skill to pick the next wealth generating opportunity.
These savvy foresight picks fitted with the changing world. The brothers evolved to spread the devious notion that “to buy is to succeed”. This was their marketing strategy. As if they are part of the creation of our consumer society.
I didn’t feel there is any chosen commentary or perspective on the history of the Lehman brothers.
In the end there was no Lehman family member on the Board when the firm collapsed in 2008, is this a clearing of the family name?
Are the brothers the shining example of business creation and success or an example of capitalism becoming the evolution of corporate evil.
See this masterful work to be engaged, impressed and to find your response to THE LEHMAN TRILOGY.
Mayer Lehman Aaron Krohn
Emanuel Lehman Howard W. Overshown
Dates: until 24 March 2024
Photography Credit Daniel Boud
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