The Land of the Living reviews at the National Theatre starring Juliet Stevenson

"Juliet Stevenson is riveting in this tale of post-war chaos"

"The Land of the Living’s superbly crafted production plunges us into a world of horror and confusion"

"Who has the right to decide the fate of another person? That thorny question is at the heart of this compelling new play by David Lan"

"Lan’s thoughtful and affecting work is based on interviews with journalist Gitta Sereny, essentially the real-life Ruth, and Stephen Daldry’s superbly crafted production plunges us into post-war chaos, confusion and horror."

"... Thomas (brilliantly played on press night by Artie Wilkinson-Hunt)"

"tevenson is riveting as a woman zealously committed to her mission."

"Lan’s sprawling, near-three-hour piece needs a firm edit. But Daldry often gives it the heart-pounding tension of a thriller, with memorable scenes like a night-time Soviet raid and a perilous train journey"

"Juliet Stevenson’s powerhouse performance drives second world war drama"

"David Lan’s play at the National Theatre is a clarion call on behalf of children displaced by conflict"

"... behind every statistic is a person — and that’s what David Lan’s play so potently brings home, diving into one (fictitious) story based on real historical circumstance."

"It’s an overlong but deeply humane play, driven by a powerhouse performance from Juliet Stevenson at its centre."

"There are points when we get tangled up in the weeds of the story, as Ruth wrangles with bureaucrats and struggles with the macro-politics of the developing cold war."

"Director Stephen Daldry is immensely gifted at creating vivid, fluent onstage worlds, and, in his hands, the chaos of 1945 tumbles across the space"

"And at the heart of the piece are three terrific performances: Stevenson, shifting moment-by-moment between her older, troubled self and the young, zealous Ruth; Wlaschiha, bruised and confused as the older Thomas; Wilkinson-Hunt, raging across the set as the traumatised child."

"Resonant saga of displaced people told by Juliet Stevenson and a star in the making"

"Directed by Stephen Daldry, David Lan’s historical drama has a revelatory performance by Artie Wilkinson-Hunt"

"David Lan’s play takes us into a fascinating corridor of history: that of displaced people, or DPs, in the aftermath of the second world war."

"Stevenson gives a typically muscular performance, but it is Artie Wilkinson-Hunt, playing the young Thomas on press night, who well and truly steals the show... A star in the making, without a doubt."

"Everything seems lined up for a captivating production... Yet the pace is too slow (almost three hours) and the characters around Ruth are generic"

"And there is so much plot that it does not leave enough space for you to feel the play’s big emotional jolts, despite the stupendous central performances."

"Still, it is impressive as a production and resonant in its subject matter."

"[David Lan's] new play, The Land of the Living, is a characteristically sober and reflective examination of a shocking series of true events, a reminder that the lessons of the past go unheeded in the present."

"Stephen Daldry’s direction is devastatingly vivid, filling the small space of the Dorfman with an entire world of action and activity"

"The play is morally complex, asking difficult questions about parentship, guardianship and belonging."

"Stevenson, with febrile intensity and great sensitivity, grapples with the dilemmas raised, and with Ruth’s own sense of feeling that she must do something to right a terrible wrong"

"Under Daldry’s careful hand, the action is always moving on. But the direction cannot disguise the fact that the play is too long, circling back on its arguments, and becoming over-extended and flat in the process. Yet it never loses its relevance."

"David Lan’s first play in 30 years is a deeply humane drama starring Juliet Stevenson, set in the chaotic aftermath of WW2"

"It looks amazing: the Dorfman becomes more set than not with Miriam Buether’s vast map floor cutting through it"

"Director Stephen Daldry (The Crown, Billy Elliot) does what he does best, careening between scenes of commotion – in which huge ensembles of actors busily populate the stage – and moments where there’s intimacy and stillness. The busy chunks are great"

"But there are strangely lumpen scenes too which make the play feel its almost three-hour length."

"Stevenson is as reliable as ever, somehow managing to age up and down 20 years with just a shift in voice and gait.

"It’s a blast of theatricality and a triumph of intellect which has obvious lessons for our times, even if they sometimes drown out the heart."

"Juliet Stevenson is assured but this play feels hollow"

"Juliet Stevenson seems to lack compassion in David Lan’s return to British theatre with a story about Nazi-abducted children"

"At first glance, The Land of the Living appears to have all the makings of a major theatrical event."

"And yet the conundrum of The Land of the Living is that, for all its pedigree, something essential and affecting never quite materialises."

"Daldry’s production seamlessly blends past and present, memory and actuality, with an ensemble of 15 actors working hard to animate each scene."

"But Stevenson, although as assured onstage as ever, seems to lack compassion. For the play to fly, we need to believe in the sincerity of her attachment to Thomas and in her total adoration of him. Yet, when she finally reveals her motherly love, it comes across as somewhat measured. Although the play runs close to three hours, their relationship needs more time to grow."

"... Wilkinson-Hunt is a diamond in the rough. Switching languages without missing a beat and hurling plates in rage across the theatre, his presence is electrifying. In a production that sometimes feels hollow, he remains its beating heart."

"Juliet Stevenson excels in timely war drama"

"Stephen Daldry’s ambitious production skips back and forth across the decades, as a UN worker investigates the abduction of children by the Nazis"

"... thanks to Miriam Buether’s stunning traverse set, Stephen Daldry’s production has an epic sweep."

"If the occasionally baggy drama doesn’t quite justify a running time of nearly three hours, it’s held together by an imperious performance by Juliet Stevenson as Ruth, a UN relief worker in the shattered landscape of postwar Germany."

"But if Ruth’s relationship with the adult Thomas isn’t quite fully fleshed out, this is still a play that leaves you pondering uncomfortable issues of heritage and destiny."

"Juliet Stevenson is superb"

"David Lan’s new play is a powerful, if overlong, look at identity and belonging amid the rippling tragedy of children displaced during conflict"

"... David Lan’s new play The Land of the Living feels grimly timely in the modern-day context of events such as Russia’s forcible transfer of thousands of Ukrainian children."

"Stevenson is superb, conveying someone who cares deeply but brusquely, with a thorny moral absolutism that seems to reverberate through her body as physical agony. Wilkinson Hunt is stunning as the younger Thomas, bristling with angry confusion"

"Throughout, though, director Stephen Daldry ensures that his production is never less than an audio-visual feast"

"An excellent ensemble cast also brings this messy, chaotic world to life."

"Juliet Stevenson’s gripping performance elevates an imperfect WWII drama"

"David Lan’s new play is sprawling and uneven, but is a reminder of Stevenson’s skill as a stage performer"

"It is an imperfect, but urgent new play."

"Stevenson is intoxicating. She plays the older version of Ruth with a brittle, deflective humour."

"Wlaschiha's Thomas, by contrast, feels less fully realised in both script and performance."

"If the performances sometimes feel uneven, the production around them is anything but: Miriam Buether’s design transforms the Dorfman into a restless landscape of doors, trapdoors and painfully empty corridors."

"Too many pivotal moments are hurried past in favour of stylised sequences. And at over two and a half hours, the play cries out for tightening."

"The Land of the Living is sprawling, uneven, and occasionally frustrating. But it is also alive, committed, filled with craft and conviction."

"I wanted to like The Land of the Living more than I did"

"It's an ambitious play about the moral maelstrom surrounding displaced children in postwar Germany - but it was difficult to become emotionally invested"

"While it is a commendably ambitious undertaking, I struggled to become emotionally invested."

"It’s harder to get into the rhythm of Stevenson as the 20-year-old Ruth, who increasingly seems less of a character and more of a walking moral dilemma."

"Daldry’s production sinuously interweaves multiple languages and all credit goes to Stevenson, who faces a healthy chunk of her part in German. Still, problems persist, as Lan tries to distil down a mountain of harrowing facts and events into one narrative."

"I spent the long evening wanting to admire this considerably more than I actually did."