Writer: David Edgar
Director: Holly Race Roughan
There is absolutely a play to be written exploring the influence of data and political strategists on the way the 
world has developed over recent decades. It is absolutely a matter of international concern as to how the fragmentation of society into useful blocks of likely voters has been exploited. Our writers should be holding that up to the light that only theatre can bring to difficult subjects. However David Edgar’s new play for the RSC and Headlong, The New Real is not that play.
Visually the production is frequently arresting. Director Holly Race Roughan makes the best of the restrictions that working in traverse places on a creative team. Similarly, designer Alex Lowde combines large video screens and detailed costuming to effortlessly create a sense of time and place.
The cast delivers strong performances. Martina Laird leads the company as Rachel Moss. A savvy American strategist, she is clearly channelling her inner Kamala and we trace her journey from being ethically driven into someone more pragmatic and occasionally compromised. She is well matched by the more morally dubious but equally effective Larry Yeates, played by Lloyd Owen. Together they share some great stage moments and sharp dialogue.
Jodie McNee makes a welcome return to Stratford as Caro, a brilliant pollster who sees things that others miss. McNee captures her zeal and later internal conflicts to perfection.
It is, without doubt, a talented ensemble cast who are doing their best on what is an overlong and unfocused piece of writing.
Central to the weakness of the script is the lack of a real dramatic arc. It is a very episodic piece spread over an extended number of years. This contributes to the run time extending to nearly three hours including the interval. For this to keep the attention of audiences, this needs to be trimmed down by at least twenty, if not thirty, minutes to acquire the necessary focus.
Another key flaw, and that is surprising from a writer with such a strong track record, is the considerable amount of time devoted to telling the audience things rather than showing them. ‘Show, don’t tell’ is one of the basics taught to every creative writing student around the world. Edgar spends too much of the play seeking to educate and inform the audience.
The ending is another cause for concern as the writing just runs out of steam and gives the audience an epilogue clearly intended to echo Puck at the end of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Sergo Vares does his best to try to make this work but the audience is still left confused as to whether there is more to come. Plays should not just fizzle out.
Having said all this, there is some cracking dialogue and some genuinely funny lines. There is also a fabulous Eurovision section that provides a welcome boost to proceedings. But this is not enough to give the play the energy it needs.
Edgar has a lot to say and has clearly thought long and hard about what he wants to explore. But there is not enough dramatic tension to override the discursive nature of his writing.
While there is much to enjoy in terms of the cast and the production, they are not sufficient to overcome a script that is not up to the standard theatregoers have come to expect from David Edgar.
Runs until 2 November 2024
The Reviews Hub Score
A Missed Opportunity
