BWW Reviews: PLAYING FOR TIME, Crucible, Sheffield, 18 Mar 2015

Arthur Miller's Playing for Time is currently playing at the Sheffield Crucible to honour the 100th anniversary of Miller's birth and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Based on the memoir of musician Fania Fénelon, it details her experiences as a member of an orchestra within Nazi concentration camps. The play deals with the complicated struggles of the women fighting for survival by playing to members of the SS, all the while knowing the fates of their fellow prisoners.

If that sounds like an uncomfortable watch - be assured that whilst the themes are difficult (how could they not be?), this is an incredibly engaging show that maintains a stream of humour and warmth within the atrocity. The dialogue and plot, whilst incredibly affecting, are easy to understand and the characters each drawn distinctly from one another - so that even when the women are treated as an anonymous mass through having their heads shaved and their clothing and belongings taken, their identities still come through clearly.

Playing the role of Fania is Sian Phillips, who manages to expertly convey the simultaneous strength and fragility of the singer throughout - an incredible performance from one of the country's hardest-working actors. She is ably supported by a fantastic cast - and it's nice to see a play in the main house at the Crucible so dominated by female roles - with Kate Lynn-Evans as officer Maria Mandel and Amanda Hadingue as conductor Alma Rosé offering particularly strong performances in their difficult roles. The members of the orchestra are a talented group of young musicians and actors who work incredibly hard throughout playing instruments through the musical numbers interspersed throughout the production and each delivering a believable and sympathetic portrayal of their characters.

The lighting (Richard Howell) is incredibly sympathetic throughout - at times painfully glaring, at other moments hauntingly beautiful, and the many layers of Ti Green's cleverly-realised set are only revealed as the play develops.

The play's central message could seem somewhat heavy-handed - and perhaps Fania can come across as almost too heroic (such is the nature of memoir) - but it's to the credit of director Richard Beecham and the cast and crew that they manage to deliver something that is just moving and unsettling enough to leave the audience both thrilled at a strong piece of theatre and challenged by the questions raised.

Playing for Time is at the Crucible, Sheffield, until April 4.

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