Review: INCIDENT AT VICHY, Finborough Theatre

Directed by Phil Willmott on the ever-changing Finborough stage, Incident At Vichy is impactful and thought-provoking. In Arthur Miller's 1964 play, a group of men are detained in the occupied French town of Vichy during World War Two. This oddly mixed crowd is held prisoner without any explanations, left there to wait for the unknown (which then, little by little, turns out to be a German inspection).

The ensemble is strong and cohesive, with a skilful blend of action-reaction that only adds to the depths of their portrayals. It's this interwoven understanding among the actors that adds value to the production, and helps even the non-speaking role of the Old Jew (Jeremy Gagan) look fully explored. Each disappears behind the tics and movements of their characters, making the acting very naturalistic.

Lawrence Boothman's (Lebeau) slow descent into panic is, disturbingly, a joy to witness; he is matched step by step by Gethin Alderman's (Leduc) faltering scientific thinkings, while Henry Wyrley-Birch is simply devastating in the role of Major. The character's humanity and conflict come together perfectly in Wyrley-Birch's ownership of the role.

The set, designed by Georgia de Grey, is effectively plain. De Grey backdrops the bunch of colourful characters with white, and lets Willmott use this setting like a painter with a blank canvas. This makes the actors the centrepiece of the work, focussing on their reflections, exchanges, contrasts and pain.

The extreme attention to detail in the production is vividly clear from the costumes. Penn O'Gara deserves as much credit in helping characterise each and every head on stage as the actors themselves: from the rumpled-up jacket belonging to Monceau, the actor, to the Marchand's freshly pressed one.

Miller's exploration of guilt, humanity, race and fear takes on new meaning in today's political panorama, and Incident at Vichy could surely be read as an eloquent metaphor of what could once again be.

Incident at Vichy runs at Finborough Theatre until 22 April.

Photo credit: Scott Rylander.

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