Watch on the Rhine West End Reviews

While its plot has the feel of a twisty crime thriller and a textbook villain in the dastardly count who holds the house to ransom, we are so engaged by what it asks of us and its tension that the melodrama does not jar. Last year the Donmar became a...

While its plot has the feel of a twisty crime thriller and a textbook villain in the dastardly count who holds the house to ransom, we are so engaged by what it asks of us and its tension that the melodrama does not jar. Last year the Donmar became a victim of Arts Council England’s funding cuts. This must-watch show more than proves its worth.

Overall, this is a handsomely mounted, well-acted work that strums reliably on the emotions, but feels inescapably like a museum piece. Scratchy film at the end tells us about the real Jewish-American-German couple that inspired Watch on the Rhine, a...

Overall, this is a handsomely mounted, well-acted work that strums reliably on the emotions, but feels inescapably like a museum piece. Scratchy film at the end tells us about the real Jewish-American-German couple that inspired Watch on the Rhine, and Hellman’s own later steadfastness during the McCarthy witchhunts in the 1950s. A new play about either might feel more stimulating.

If Hellman’s message about the foolishness of American isolationism – both politically and practically – feels perennially relevant, then there’s no denying ‘Watch on the Rhine’ was written for a specific time. It must have been incendiar...

If Hellman’s message about the foolishness of American isolationism – both politically and practically – feels perennially relevant, then there’s no denying ‘Watch on the Rhine’ was written for a specific time. It must have been incendiary in its day. It’s not now. But its shift from bourgeoise cosiness to shocking violence remains bravura stuff.

The whimsical differences in lifestyle inexorably transmute into a sharp commentary and instigate a call to action for a nation that had not yet entered the conflict when the show premiered on Broadway in 1941. It's a bold, uncompromising move for El...

The whimsical differences in lifestyle inexorably transmute into a sharp commentary and instigate a call to action for a nation that had not yet entered the conflict when the show premiered on Broadway in 1941. It's a bold, uncompromising move for Ellen McDougall to stage it in the face of the Ukrainian war and the perfect opportunity to prove why the Donmar didn't deserve the 100% cut to its Arts Council England funding.