BWW Reviews: THE PATRIOTIC TRAITOR, Park Theatre, February 24 2015

The Patriotic Traitor is the story of close friends Charles de Gaulle and Philippe Pétain, who despite sharing a love of France wind up on opposing sides during World War II.

Pétain, a tough, stubborn, unconventional soldier, and General de Gaulle, his academic and socially awkward counterpart, make for an interesting partnership that offers up a few comic moments. However, considering the context, the script is mostly uneventful and never takes off with any dramatic momentum.

This is a boardroom drama, full of academic argument and war talk, pieced together with excruciatingly slow scene changes.

The show boasts an impressive cast, led by Olivier Award-winner Tom Conti and Lewis actor Laurence Fox - both of whom were good, of course, but the material didn't allow them to be much better.

Nevertheless, this play depicts an important time in history and has a go at exploring who decides a man's legacy. Traitor or patriot? A relevant argument, but in this instance, I'm not sure we cared.

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