AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE
Chichester Festival Theatre, until May 21. Tickets: 01243 781312
ANYONE who doubts Henrik Ibsen was the founding father of modern drama should see An Enemy Of The People. While Christopher Hampton refreshes the play in his new translation, he does not modernise it; he doesn’t need to. Such is the currency of its concerns it could have been written last week. Sibling rivalry, a political cover-up and the thin line between hubris and moral high ground are the elements at play.
Having been bailed out in the past by his brother, Dr Tomas Stockmann (Hugh Bonneville) learns his town’s lucrative spa baths have been badly polluted by the local tannery.
Intending to expose the situation in the liberal-minded local paper, he is assailed on all sides to keep quiet.
Given his brother Peter (William Gaminara) is the town’s mayor and his father-in-law Morten Kiil (Trevor Cooper) is the tannery owner, his actions have personal as well as public consequences.
Director Howard Davies keeps a sure hand on the tiller as the drama unfolds on Tim Hatley’s naturalistic sets including Stockmann’s windowfilled house and a newspaper office.
A superb cast is led by Bonneville’s excitable idealist whose principles fall prey to self-infatuation and Gaminara’s cunning bureaucrat.
The meeting scene where Stockmann delivers his evidence is a coup de théâtre as townspeople flood the audience, engaging spectators and actors alike in the fiery debate.
As these petty Machiavels engage in provincial powermongering and backroom deals fly back and forth, the play takes on the aspect of film noir: High Noon without the hero.