Review Roundup: WATCH ON THE RHINE at The Donmar Warehouse

Lillian Hellman's masterpiece political thriller Watch on the Rhine is now running as part of Donmar Warehouse's 30th anniversary season. The cast includes Kate Duchêne (Anise), Caitlin FitzGerald (Sara Muller) and Patricia Hodge (Fanny Farrelly), with John Light (Teck de Brancovis), Carlyss Peer (Marthe de Brancovis), Geoffrey Streatfeild (David Farrelly), Mark Waschke (Kurt Muller) and David Webber (Joseph).

They are joined by Finley Glasgow (Joshua Muller), Tamar Laniado and Chloe Raphael (Babette Muller), Bertie Caplan and Henry Hunt (Bodo Muller).

Directed by Ellen McDougall, the production runs until 4 February 2023. 

The production is designed by Basia Bińkowska, with lighting design by Azusa Ono, sound design by Tingying Dong, fight direction by Cristian Cardenas, musical direction by Josh Middleton, video design by Sarah Readman, casting director Anna Cooper CDG, dramaturgy by Emma Jude Harris and Zoe Svendsen, voice and dialect coaching by Nia Lynn. Anti-racism consultancy for the production is provided by mezze eade.

Read the reviews here...

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian: While its plot has the feel of a twisty crime thriller and a textbook villain in the dastardly count who holds the house to ransom, we are so engaged by what it asks of us and its tension that the melodrama does not jar. Last year the Donmar became a victim of Arts Council England’s funding cuts. This must-watch show more than proves its worth.

Nick Curtis, Evening Standard: Overall, this is a handsomely mounted, well-acted work that strums reliably on the emotions, but feels inescapably like a museum piece. Scratchy film at the end tells us about the real Jewish-American-German couple that inspired Watch on the Rhine, and Hellman’s own later steadfastness during the McCarthy witchhunts in the 1950s. A new play about either might feel more stimulating.

Andrzej Lukowski, TimeOut London: If Hellman’s message about the foolishness of American isolationism – both politically and practically – feels perennially relevant, then there’s no denying ‘Watch on the Rhine’ was written for a specific time. It must have been incendiary in its day. It’s not now. But its shift from bourgeoise cosiness to shocking violence remains bravura stuff.

Cindy Marcolina, BroadwayWorld: The whimsical differences in lifestyle inexorably transmute into a sharp commentary and instigate a call to action for a nation that had not yet entered the conflict when the show premiered on Broadway in 1941. It's a bold, uncompromising move for Ellen McDougall to stage it in the face of the Ukrainian war and the perfect opportunity to prove why the Donmar didn't deserve the 100% cut to its Arts Council England funding.

Average Rating: 77.5%