Three theatre legends return home in this brilliant production

In Spring 2014, Broadway was treated to a repertory production of two iconic plays starring not one, but two acting greats - Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart. After it became clear that I wasn’t going to be able to hop across to New York to catch this incredible double production of No Man’s Land and Waiting For Godot, my only hope was that there would be a West End transfer. And last night, I finally got to experience the magic that is McKellen and Stewart at home on a West End Stage in Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land.

The Wyndham’s Theatre is in fact the very theatre in which this play was first performed on the West End, as it moved there from its premiere at the Old Vic in 1975. The highly acclaimed Broadway production has transferred almost in its entirety, complete with the gorgeous - and looming - sitting room set designed by Stephen Brimson Lewis and with direction once again by Sean Mathias. The only changes seem to be our Briggs and Foster and, of course, the absence of Waiting For Godot occurring in rep - though I’ll remain hopeful that a transfer will follow hot on the heels of this sold-out production!

No Man’s Land is one of the great works of absurdist theatre, a genre of writing which emerged in the late 19th century and strays from the usual conventions of structure and theme, instead toying with existential ideas through characters and their dialogue. In fact the title itself is a lovely nod to the way in which plays of this sort seem to consist largely of prose and observations, encounters and interactions that offer no resolution or answers and instead leave the audience adrift in an intermediary space somewhere between reality and imagination for the duration of the play.

McKellen’s Spooner is an absolute delight - a rambling, often narcissistic man who clearly knows he’s overstayed his welcome but makes only half-hearted attempts to excuse himself. Hirst, portrayed perfectly by Stewart, has all the signs of a once elegant and gracious man, now aging in both body and mind. This is evident not just in the way his character is losing his grip on time and place, but also in grandeur of the room they are in, with its delicate touch of decay at the seams.

It often felt like we were seeing two versions of the same man - in Hirst one who has achieved some degree of the wealth and success he desired but paid for it through the loss of his memory as he ages and, in Spooner, the other watching in from the darkness, his mind in one piece but constantly splintered by his own need to be heard. No Man’s Land is in essence a play about this very thing, about words and memory and how our unending need to be heard and have a voice is tantamount to our experience of being alive. Stewart and McKellen are a dream pairing to tackle this monumental work, and bring these concepts to life through two frustrating but lovable characters.

Looking beyond the successes of this particular production, No Man’s Land seems to be quite an indulgent work for a playwright, as if the play has allowed Pinter to carve a space for beautiful phrases to live without being obliged to indulge the audience in the usual satisfactions of a developed narrative or fuller characterisation. Perhaps even a space for him to ponder, alongside his two main characters, on his own place as a writer and as a man? And it works - the play is hilarious and haunting in equal measures, and often at the same time. Lines like Hirst feeling “in the last lap of a race I had long forgotten to run” reveal more about the characters and their fragility than all the more technical theatrical tools in the world could. And as they jest and toy with each other, they peel apart for the audience the darkest of man’s fears - not just of growing old, but of growing old and being forgotten, of not leaving behind anything of substance.

No Man’s Land is currently playing at limited run at the Wyndham’s Theatre until December 17th. Tickets are almost sold out for most nights aside from top tier tickets - in addition you could either take your chances in the returns queue on each show night, or see what’s available via resale on our website. That is of course if it doesn’t transfer for a third time - theatre chemistry like this is just too good to not rekindle.

Reviewed by Wendy van de Weg

Tuesday 14th September 2016
Wyndham's Theatre, London
Find me on Twitter: @_londontheatre_

View our show pages for more information about No Man's Land, Wyndhams Theatre.