Good review: ‘fascinating psychological theatre’ starring David Tennant
This quietly terrifying play offers a ‘surprising and perceptive psychological slant’ on the Nazis’ rise
“Few actors can project charismatic affability better than David Tennant,” said Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph. And fewer still have his ability to switch off the charm in an instant and “go dead behind the eyes”, as we discovered when he played the serial killer Dennis Nielsen in ITV’s Des.
In Good, set in pre-war Germany, Tennant plays another “seemingly ordinary man” – a liberal-minded literature professor, John Halder, who gradually becomes part of the Nazi “killing machine”, washes his hands of his Jewish best friend, and ends up arguing for the Final Solution.
First performed in 1981, C.P. Taylor’s quietly terrifying play offers a “surprising and perceptive psychological slant” on the Nazis’ rise. Halder is not “spurred by rousing speeches” and nationalist passion – but rather by bourgeois insularity, “self-interest and self-absorption”. And Tennant’s performance is “hypnotic”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This is “fascinating psychological theatre with the feel of a fever dream”, amplified in Dominic Cooke’s production by bold, non-naturalistic staging, said Arifa Akbar in The Guardian. Vicki Mortimer’s set is “grey and prison-like”; scenes change abruptly. The strangeness of all this is explained by a reveal at the end, but “the payoff isn’t quite surprising enough”. Still, there is “enough intrigue, intellect and fine acting to keep us rapt”, and Tennant is “spellbinding in his ordinariness, not hiding Halder’s venality yet ensuring he remains human”.
Tennant’s is a “chilling performance rather than a moving one”, said Sarah Crompton on What’s on Stage. It falls to Elliott Levey, as Maurice, Halder’s best friend, to locate the play’s emotion, and he brilliantly conveys both Maurice’s humour and rising panic.
Sharon Small is equally persuasive, said Dominic Maxwell in The Times: she has to switch between parts – Halder’s wives, his mother, a Nazi soldier – and does so in a way that is “clear, unfussy, instant”. Don’t expect fireworks from this excellent revival. “What you get is something stranger, more insidious, and I suspect much more memorable.”
Harold Pinter Theatre, London SW1
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 high-caliber cartoons about Kristi Noem shooting her puppy
Cartoons Artists take on the rainbow bridge, a farm upstate, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Why is the world running low on blood?
Podcast Scientists believe universal donor blood is within reach – plus, the row over an immersive D-Day simulation, and an Ozempic faux pas
By The Week Staff Published
-
Rishi Sunak's asylum spat with Ireland explained
In Depth Irish government plans to override court ruling that the UK is unsafe for asylum seekers
By The Week UK Published
-
Properties of the week: houses with enchanting gardens
The Week Recommends Featuring pretty homes in Hampshire, Devon and West Sussex
By The Week UK Published
-
Venice Biennale 2024: from the good to the bad to the downright 'bizarre'
The Week Recommends Central exhibition features the work of some 330 artists
By The Week UK Published
-
Sunset Song: gripping theatre that's 'close to magic'
The Week Recommends Morna Young's 'first-class adaptation' of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's classic novel
By The Week UK Published
-
Challengers: 'the most purely pleasurable film of the year so far'
The Week Recommends Zendaya plays a former tennis player turned coach in this 'almost ridiculously' sexy drama
By The Week UK Published
-
Baby Reindeer: a 'compelling and unforgettable' series
The Week Recommends Comedian Richard Gadd's disturbing Netflix drama about stalking
By The Week UK Published
-
Daniel Wallace's 5 favorite books that should not be forgotten
Feature The author recommends works by Italo Calvino, Evan S. Connell, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 picturesque homes in Arizona
Feature Featuring a glass elevator in Sedona and a grotto waterfall in Paradise Valley
By The Week Staff Published
-
Silversea cruise review: a Central and North American adventure
The Week Recommends An incredible journey featuring cultural exploration, cooking classes, comfort and more
By Yasemen Kaner-White Published