THE LUCKY ONES: Eilenberg, Hampstead, till 1 June

THE LUCKY ONES: Charlotte Eilenberg
Hampstead Theatre, Tkts: 020 7722 9301
Runs: 2h 30m, one interval, till 1 June
Review: Vera Lustig, 20 April 2002-04-25

Hampstead Theatre's Press Officer turns playwright: and a classy ensemble do her proud. A refreshing change from Jewish 'humour', a cracking piece of theatre and a perceptive study of human nature.
To use the type of metaphor beloved of its protagonists, The Lucky Ones hits the nail on the head. Eilenberg, daughter of a German Jewish refugee, has written a warts-and-all portrayal of two inter-married families from the dwindling generation.

As a fellow second-generationer, I can testify to its accuracy. This dense, passionate and boldly plotted play is animated by well-observed, emotionally truthful performances. Play and production capture not only the externals (the heavily accented boundaries that makes friends seem like close relatives; the endless dissatisfied scolding' the food . . .) but also the dislocation felt even by the second generation.

Eilenberg combines personal experience with objectivity. There are predictable elements – the rebellious son marries a Lebanese – but they also ring true. It's 1968 and the Mosenthals and Blacks are selling their holiday home, a New Forest cottage. They meet a prospective buyer, Lisa Pendry, and discover that she too is a Berliner, but a Gentile. Kelly Hunter is, apart from her iffy German pronunciation, splendid. She treats her Jewish hosts with careful graciousness. There is a scene of shared reminiscence, heavy with unspoken thoughts and feelings between Lisa and the dangerously irascible Leo Black (Anton Lesser in tremendous form). It's a rapt moment of nostalgic communion before the mood turns ugly.

Underpinning the play is Eilenberg's faith in the power of imagination to fill in gaps. We never see Leo with his cowed son Daniel'; but the middle-aged Daniel's taboo-bustingly bitter funeral oration, addressed to the audience, shows us a son who has inherited the traits he loathes. James Clyde, all brave, teary smiles, and barbed courtesy, makes it a tour de force.

The Lucky Ones is tightly specific, but resonant, too, and although there is only a fleeting, acerbic reference to Israel, timely. At this shaming juncture in Jewish History, Eilenberg's unflinching play illuminates the Jewish psyche. not to pardon the unpardonable. But to help us all understand, o yes.

Anna Mosenthal: Margot Leicester
Bruno Mosenthal: David Horovitch
Ottilie Black: Michelle Newell
Leo Black: Anton Lesser
Lisa Pendry: Kelly Hunter
Daniel Black: James Clyde
Beth Mosenthal: Miranda Foster

Director: Matthew Lloyd
Design: Dick Bird
Lighting: Robert Bryan
Sound: Gregg R Fisher

2002-04-25 22:35:37