Travelling Light

Was it the mixed reviews that led to the theatre in Aylesbury being only half full on Thursday evening? Although for the short tour by the National Theatre, this was the only stop in the whole of the Midlands and South East. It is therefore little wonder that so few quality plays come to the provinces. And there was quality here. Most of the play is set in a Jewish shtetl in Eastern Europe at the beginning of the 20th Century, so this may have put some people off.

Nicholas Wright is one of our foremost playwrights, and he has taken the influx of Jewish movie makers to America one big step back to the imagined roots of one budding director, well played by Damien Molony. And it is his relationship with his first backer played by the terrific Anthony Sher and his new assistant, a dazzling Lauren O'Neil, that is at the heart of the story. All the aspects of modern filmmaking are captured in their infancy. The overpowering producer, the egotistic director, the dictatorial accountant, the tantrums of the cast, the audience as critics and  patience and dedication of the crew. It's all here and put nicely together by Nicholas Hytner. I did say quality.