A Splinter of Ice

Theatre Royal Bath ★★★☆☆

THIS new play - that gives us playwright Ben Brown’s view of what took place in a Moscow flat when, after many years apart, novelist Graham Greene visited his old MI6 boss and soviet defector, Kim Philby - puts me in mind of one of the new hybrid cars. It is highly efficient, delivers everything it advertises, but is not terribly exciting to drive.

Greene was practically the only person of note to defend Philby when he defected to Russia in 1963. Brown takes us meticulously through the events that led up to this 1987 reunion, full of detail, a little short on drama.

There are dramatic climaxes in the story, the moment when Greene asks why if, as he claims, his time in Russia has been so happy did Philby once tried to commit suicide, and the offer of amnesty to Philby opening the door for a return to his homeland. Neither are taken up, the production continuing on its smooth hybrid motor car journey. Do we lay this blame at the door of the writer or the director Alan Strachan? One thing is certain you cannot blame the cast. Oliver Ford Davies as Greene, Stephen Boxer as Philby, and Karen Ascoe, with a lovely cameo performance as Philby’s Russian wife, sail through their roles with the ease of a top Wimbledon seed in the first round. Almost imperceptibly the three characters grow through the evening, Greene’s deep love and belief in Philby, the dying Philby’s growing reliance on alcohol, and his wife determined to protect and take loving care of him.

There may be few theatrical fireworks on view, but there is a fascinating story to be told, in the safe hands of this cast told in a highly polished smooth running manner.