Straight Line Crazy
Written by David Hare Bridge Theatre, London, until 18 June
Urban planning and transport may not sound like the most natural topics for a play, but then Robert Moses was no ordinary planner. For nearly four decades he was in charge of various planning projects in the state of New York, using his power and influence to build hundreds of miles of motorways, as well as a large number of parks and bridges – at the cost of displacing an estimated 250,000 people. Venerated by some as a visionary, he grew to be hated by many for his perceived arrogance and belief in the absolute supremacy of the car over public transport. In Straight Line Crazy, directed by Nicholas Hytner, David Hare examines Moses’ life and legacy.
Rather than trying to capture the broad sweep of Moses’ life, Hare chooses to focus on just two key moments at the start and end of his career. In the first half we see Moses (played by Ralph Fiennes) in 1926, attempting to overcome opposition from plutocratic locals to his plans to open up the then exclusive area of Long Island with a series of highways that would enable people from the city to travel there. In the second half, it’s 1955 and, although firmly in charge, Moses is facing a challenge from journalist Jane Jacobs (Helen Schlesinger), who spearheads opposition to his plans to
“In the age of Build Back Better and amid controversy over infrastructure, the play is a timely contribution”
bulldoze over Washington Square in New York City.
In an attempt to help us bridge the gap between the two periods, Hare gives us two supporting characters: Moses’ assistants Finnuala Connell (Siobhán Cullen) and Ariel Porter (Samuel Barnett).
In the early section, they are young and idealistic, clearly full of admiration for their domineering and eccentric, but effective, boss. By the end, however, while publicly supportive of Moses, privately they are worn out and disillusioned as a result of the personal sacrifices they have had to make and from Moses’s callousness and unwillingness to accept the shift in the public mood.
To a certain extent this approach works, helped by energetic performances from Fiennes and Cullen. Danny Webb steals the first act as New York governor Al Smith, the pugnacious wheeler-dealer who Moses admired above all else. Alisha Bailey’s Mariah Heller also helps fill us in on some of the human costs of Moses’ messianic vision. Still, a few additional scenes set in the intervening years might have helped the audience understand more about how Moses’ vision ended up turning into an obsession. In the age of Build Back Better, and amid growing controversy over our inability to execute infrastructure projects, Straight Line Crazy is certainly timely, but it could have done with a few more twists and turns to keep the audience onboard.