Review: Farm Hall, Theatre Royal Haymarket - Nuclear scientists in a Big Brother house
14/08/2024
Last year saw two plays in London based on the real story of a group of Germany's top scientists who were rounded up at the end of the Second World War and held at a farm outside Cambridge.
One was Operation Epsilon at Southwark Playhouse Elephant and the other was Farm Hall at Jermyn Street Theatre which has now transferred to the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Think of Farm Hall as sort of like a Big Brother house for physicists who had been trying to develop an atomic bomb. They can wander around the house, but the British and Americans are listening, having bugged the farm to discover how close the Germans got in their work.
While Operation Epsilon included all 10 scientists, Farm Hall focuses on six and is better for it as you get to know them a little more.
The scientists are bored, making their own entertainment with the books and games that are available.
They bicker and argue with a few witty lines about the English thrown in for good measure. They speculate about their fate and fantasise about their future and where they'd like to settle.
Not all get along; there is snobbery about the types of work they were doing and arguments about the Nazis and individual relationships with the party.
It is amusing and interesting but a little plodding. However, at the end of the first half, they are told about the Hiroshima bomb, and things change.
One of the scientists, Otto Hahn (Forbes Masson), had given the Germans a head start when he discovered nuclear fission. The consequences of that discovery haunt him.
The play becomes a debate about the morality of their work, its real-world impact, and how it makes them feel.
For some, old rivalries and competitiveness bubble to the surface, while for others, reconciling what they could have done—the 'what ifs'—is more difficult.
At one point, they discuss where Germany would have targeted had it succeeded in developing the atomic bomb first.
These discussions display a mix of cold science and feelings (or lack thereof in some instances).
Farm Hall has good all-round performances and is well-directed by Stephen Unwin, who manages to bring enough activity to what could otherwise be a very static play.
But it is slow to get started and does not really hit its stride until the second half. I'm giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️ and a half stars.
Farm Hall, Theatre Royal Haymarket
Written by Katherine Moar
Directed by Stephen Unwin
Cast: Daniel Boyd, David Yelland, Alan Cox, Julius D'Silva, Archie Backhouse and Forbes Masson
Running time: 1 hour and 45 minutes, including an interval
Booking until 31 August; visit the official website for more details and to buy tickets.
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