REVIEW: Spies at The Haymarket, until Saturday May 17

9:20am Friday 16th May 2008

IT was fantastic to see such a healthy crowd early in the week at The Haymarket for this adaptation of Michael Frayn's novel, which comes to us from Theatre Alibi.

Having already spoken to its director, who mentioned that its own writer, Mr Frayn, had thought it quite a confusing book, I was glad to find that, come the end of the evening, no one seemed to have had any difficulty grasping who was who and what was what.

Musicians Lisa Lee Leslie and Raphael Munton were onstage and part of the action from curtain up. The narrator Derek Frood then initially spoke a little German, which added an immediate element of uncertainty. He then took us back to his wartime childhood, watching himself (Benjamin Warren) and his best friend Keith (John-Paul Macleod) play. As his detailed descriptions and sly comments reminded us, this was a time when everyone knew their neighbours, and very little intrigue passed unnoticed.

There was much of amusement to be savoured here. Looking disgustedly at his younger self, Frood remarked, "Was I really so unsatisfactory?", before some nose-picking confirmed his answer!

The boys' youthful exuberance imagined suspicious circumstances even where there may have been none, and set their sights on Keith's enigmatic mother Mrs Hayward (Jordan Whyte). Following her movements, they discovered much more than they had bargained for.

Director Nikki Sved and designer James Cotteril have done, I think, a marvellous job condensing such a book and managing to convey an intimidating variety of very different environments with their ambitious, love-it-or-hate-it staging. Imposing and industrial, striking and functional, it was able to be utilised in many ways to bring indoors, outdoors, a tunnel and goodness knows what else to life. It was, perhaps, moved a little too often in the first half, but the many changes aided the build-up of the frenetic pace which was necessary to get us to the slower second half, where the emotional punch was packed.

The cast of just six key actors did a fantastic job, often becoming a completely different character just moments after they'd been someone else, notably Christian Flint as a chilling Mr Hayward and our main character's silly brother, and Warren, in the lead.

Whyte was also terrific, both elegantly aloof and yet demonstrably conflicted, while Cerianne Roberts was a huge hit as a rather passionate young lady, and the narrator's mother.

It was wonderful to feel a buzz in The Haymarket again, and also to see the young faces of a school group there to enjoy an evening's entertainment too. I heard many people present remark on the new décor, indicating that this was their first visit in quite some time.

Even if they didn't love this accomplished production, let us hope that they saw enough to encourage them to come back again soon.