Writer: Peter Morgan
Director: Rupert Goold
Peter Morgan is best known for writing about the Royal Family in The Crown and in his new play Patriots he examines a similar kind of Firm, that of the Russian oligarchy and one man’s patronage of Vladimir Putin. Knowing what we know now of Putin, Morgan’s play about the president’s ascent is a quiet epic that bristles with menace.
The chills don’t just come from the way Putin rises from a nobody to dictator, but also in the way that businessmen control politics for their own gains. This is not just Putin’s story, but also that of oligarch Boris Berezovsky. As a young boy, Berezovsky is a mathematics protégé, but he finds no satisfaction in solving equations; instead he wants to make money. He wants to prove that the infinite is possible. He wants to make lots of money.
The play begins with Berezovsky finding success at the head of car dealership in the late 80s, taking advantage of Gorbachev’s Perestroika. Not many Russians could afford to buy a car at this time, but it’s Berezovsky’s job to make a Lada seem like a necessity rather than a luxury. He first brushes shoulders with Putin at this time. Putin is the deputy mayor of St Petersburg and, in an effort to be awarded prime retail space, Berezovsky tries to bribe him with a Mercedes. Putin honourably refuses.
Compared to the dodgy business deals of Berezovsky, Putin’s contemporaneous rise to power seems dignified. You can’t help agreeing with Putin when he decides in his early days as president to limit the power of the oligarchs, and instead, return politics to the politicians. This almost sympathetic view of Putin is what makes Morgan’s play so exciting.
In the hands of Tom Hollander, Berezovsky is an annoying sweary man-child. He’s full of ambition, but has little patience. He’s a bully, but gives those he bullies awkward hugs as tokens of apology. Berezovsky is repellent, but Hollander gives him an energy that is hard to turn away from. By advocating for Putin, he really believes that he will be able to control the new president as a puppet.
And at first Putin behaves like one. He says what Berezovsky wants him to say, but actor Will Keen also holds himself like a puppet, his hair all on one side, his face still and shiny like Scott or Virgil from Thunderbirds. Like them, there’s a slight bounce in his walk. This could be humorous, but Keen’s performance is frightening. It’s like seeing Frankenstein’s monster come to life.
They are supported by a fairly large cast: Luke Thallon plays Roman Abramovich as a polite public schoolboy, while Jamael Westman plays Alexander Litvinenko as an idealistic Scouser. In this drama of Russian heavyweights sparring in the ring, there are few roles for female actors. Here they must be wives, girlfriends and newsreaders.
Rupert Goold brings the contest to life, and Morgan’s short scenes are bookended with much activity. Actors come to the stage from all directions; helicopters hover; life-support machines bleep. Goold is also sure to create some quietness too, like the breath-taking moment when Putin seems to see himself in the mirror for the first time. He is pleased with his new image.
Miriam Buether’s stage resembles the top of long bar in a pub, and it’s the perfect location for this peculiarly Russian play, a tale of a country where men’s dreams of Western neoliberalism are accompanied by a desire for the old Russia, where everyone knew their place and where there was not a word for ‘choice.’
Runs until 20 August 2022
The Reviews Hub Score
Chilling
