Review: Farm Hall (Theatre Royal Haymarket)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️

A true story heads to Theatre Royal Haymarket for 30 performances only as Farm Hall enjoys a West End transfer, following an acclaimed season at the neighbouring Jermyn Street Theatre last year, where it holds the honour of being the best-selling show in the history of that theatre. Moving to this far grander setting, would this story fare as well this time around?

Set in the summer of 1945, it tells the extraordinary true story of six of Germany’s leading nuclear scientists being detained at the titular Farm Hall, a country house outside Cambridge. As they attempt to keep themselves entertained during the long and boring days there, they find their world shattered with the news that the Americans succeeded where the Germans failed and built an atom bomb, which they have used against Japan.

The first play from Katherine Moar, Farm Hall takes a look at what conversations might have been had in the six months these six scientists spent together. Clashing personalities, egos and competitiveness pave way for several humorous moments, though this tone shifts upon the news of what the Americans have done. While the second act deals with their conflicting emotions as they get their heads around the consequences of this action, it allows for dialogue that can prove interesting but ultimately is never explored in great enough detail.

It is the inconsistency in tone that makes Farm Hall a jarring watch at times. Flitting from humour to serious topics should prove thought-provoking and impactful – however, here it feels unnatural and is never given enough time to breathe. This is a play which has plenty of opportunity to explore and unravel the inner-workings of these six characters. Instead, they tend to be underwritten and fairly paper-thin in detail. A closing monologue from one of the characters seems to come out of nowhere and left me thinking how much better the play would have been had each of the six characters had a turn for their own monologue. To know so little about each of them and their motivations makes it that much harder to care about them as the play draws to a close. Another missed opportunity here was in the clashes between the six – something that seems to play a big part early on but is then largely glossed over for the remainder of the play.

Farm Hall also suffers from problematic pacing. Though the play is only 1 hour and 45 minutes in length, including an interval, it feels extremely slow at times – particularly in the first act. A moment where the characters sit around in almost silence for three minutes as they wait for the news on the radio was frustrating in how under-written it is. Words may not be necessary but the six cast members should make up for this with movements to retain interest. Instead, it was the longest three minutes of theatre I have experienced this year. I also felt the interval was wholly unnecessary, feeling like a last-minute addition that added absolutely nothing to the show. As the action picked up in act two with a completely unnatural repeat of the final lines from act one, momentum was lost and impacts lessened in a show that would be better as a singular act.

Having moved from the cosy Jermyn Street Theatre to the much larger stage of Theatre Royal Haymarket, the set, while pleasant in its design from Ceci Calf, does feel slightly lost in the larger space. While this is largely unavoidable, given the short run of the play, it does make the events of Farm Hall feel colder as it loses the intimacy I imagine would have made it all the more captivating at its previous home.

An aspect of Farm Hall that can’t be faulted, however, is in its fantastic cast. David Yelland, Alan Cox, Daniel Boyd, Forbes Masson, Julius D’Silva and Archie Blackhouse often make up for their under-developed characters by attempting to bring out the comedy and humanity in their characters. With great camaraderie between them, they make the experience a much more enjoyable watch, though similarly had me longing they had a bit more to work with. A particular standout sequence comes from Forbes Masson’s who gets an emotional scene as Hahn, though again this is never explored in enough detail. Daniel Boyd’s Weizsäcker proves another highlight, particularly in his closing monologue in an effervescently charismatic performance.

Farm Hall is a show with a lot of potential. The writing, in parts, proves to be interesting but more often than not fails to live up to its promise. It also loses some of its impact by losing a sense of intimacy which can lead to a cold story that feels hard to connect to. While there were a few laughs to be had in the first half, the tone got lost along the way and the more sombre events later on failed to resonate with me. That said, it is always exciting to see a new playwright emerge and for some of the smaller theatres London has to offer such as the jewel that is Jermyn Street Theatre enjoy a West End transfer like this. With a bit more development, Farm Hall could prove to be a resounding success. Unfortunately though, just like the scientists in the play, in its present form, they failed to make this work.

Farm Hall plays at Theatre Royal Haymarket until 31st August. Tickets from www.trh.co.uk

Photos by Alex Brenner