STRAIGHT LINE CRAZY
****
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Screenplay: David Hare
Principal cast:
Ralph Fiennes
Siobhán Cullen
Samuel Barnett
Danny Webb
Alisha Bailey
Helen Schlesinger
Country: UK
Classification: CTC
Runtime: 150 mins. including interval
Australian release date: 17 September 2022.
The latest National Theatre Live production, filmed at the Bridge Theatre, London, on the 26th of May this year, features the new play from acclaimed playwright and Oscar-nominated screenwriter David Hare. Straight Line Crazy, set in New York and starring Ralph Fiennes, is about Robert Moses, an urban planner who was responsible for a great deal of the built infrastructure of the city from the 1920s to the ‘60s. Although never elected to public office, he was the driving force behind the erection of numerous bridges and expressways and the creation of many parks and pools before falling from grace. Hare’s source material for the play was the 1974 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Moses, The Power Broker, written by Robert Caro, and some of the book’s conclusions have subsequently been criticised as questionable. Be that as it may, Hare has transformed the work into an extraordinarily powerful play and Fiennes provides an equally powerful performance to bring Moses into full-blooded, table-thumping life.
Moses was a bulldozer in his approach to getting his way - he didn’t suffer fools or, indeed, anyone who disagreed with his vision. Always convinced he was right, he’d tell his staff that, “our job is to lead, not to follow.” When first encountered, it’s the 1920s and Moses (Fiennes) is planning to build an expressway to Jones Beach on Long Island. It’s an altruistic plan driven by the desire to provide a recreational space for the working class of NYC, but it’s opposed by many of the rich denizens of the island. It’s also pointed out to him that a railway line might be better because many people can’t afford cars, but he won’t hear of it; he has a passion for automobiles (although he doesn’t drive himself) and insists on the expressway. His political ally is New York Governor Al Smith (a terrific turn from Danny Webb) but even someone as powerful as him can be got around if necessary. When Smith declares that he has misgivings about the plan, Moses’ trick is to start the project anyway, surmising that once the first shovels have turned the earth, no one will have the courage to call for it to be stopped. And he is right.
In the second act, it’s the 1960s and Moses’ new scheme is to build the Lower Manhattan Expressway, a project which would carve a route through Greenwich Village and divide Washington Square Park in two. By now, he has lost any altruism that might have motivated him in his earlier years (he’s driven some 250,000 people from their homes in the past 25 years) and he’s beyond caring about whose noses he puts out of joint. When local residents turn against his plan, he first attempts to ignore them and then, when pressed, schedules a public meeting only hours before it is due to start. This time, though, his tricks don’t work and his political backers desert him. It’s a fatal blow to the ‘master builder’.
Straight Line Crazy features an almost bare stage which becomes populated by occasional props needed to create the backdrop to various scenes. So, a table here or an armchair there is all that’s necessary to give the audience a sense of place. It’s a clever way to keep the play flowing, without the need for major set changes. It also opens up the stage for the actors to work their magic without interference. Fiennes is at his, well, finest. His is a highly verbose role and he has to deliver most of his lines in a state of high emotion because the opinionated Moses makes all his pronouncements at full throttle, hands on hips. Even his softer moments are driven by outspoken passion. It’s a bravura performance. His long-suffering secretary and co-worker, Finnuala, masterfully played by Siobhán Cullen, is one of the few people who know how to manage this irascible personality but even she is eventually worn down by him. Another significant role is that of Ariel Porter, also a long-term employee of Moses, well characterised here by Samuel Barnett.
It’s a rare National Theatre Live production that isn’t top drawer and Straight Line Crazy is no exception. It’s a wonderful chance to see Ralph Fiennes at his best, virtually in the room with him. And David Hare has, once again, created an extraordinarily vigorous, political drama of great power. It’s a blast!
Screenplay: David Hare
Principal cast:
Ralph Fiennes
Siobhán Cullen
Samuel Barnett
Danny Webb
Alisha Bailey
Helen Schlesinger
Country: UK
Classification: CTC
Runtime: 150 mins. including interval
Australian release date: 17 September 2022.
The latest National Theatre Live production, filmed at the Bridge Theatre, London, on the 26th of May this year, features the new play from acclaimed playwright and Oscar-nominated screenwriter David Hare. Straight Line Crazy, set in New York and starring Ralph Fiennes, is about Robert Moses, an urban planner who was responsible for a great deal of the built infrastructure of the city from the 1920s to the ‘60s. Although never elected to public office, he was the driving force behind the erection of numerous bridges and expressways and the creation of many parks and pools before falling from grace. Hare’s source material for the play was the 1974 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Moses, The Power Broker, written by Robert Caro, and some of the book’s conclusions have subsequently been criticised as questionable. Be that as it may, Hare has transformed the work into an extraordinarily powerful play and Fiennes provides an equally powerful performance to bring Moses into full-blooded, table-thumping life.
Moses was a bulldozer in his approach to getting his way - he didn’t suffer fools or, indeed, anyone who disagreed with his vision. Always convinced he was right, he’d tell his staff that, “our job is to lead, not to follow.” When first encountered, it’s the 1920s and Moses (Fiennes) is planning to build an expressway to Jones Beach on Long Island. It’s an altruistic plan driven by the desire to provide a recreational space for the working class of NYC, but it’s opposed by many of the rich denizens of the island. It’s also pointed out to him that a railway line might be better because many people can’t afford cars, but he won’t hear of it; he has a passion for automobiles (although he doesn’t drive himself) and insists on the expressway. His political ally is New York Governor Al Smith (a terrific turn from Danny Webb) but even someone as powerful as him can be got around if necessary. When Smith declares that he has misgivings about the plan, Moses’ trick is to start the project anyway, surmising that once the first shovels have turned the earth, no one will have the courage to call for it to be stopped. And he is right.
In the second act, it’s the 1960s and Moses’ new scheme is to build the Lower Manhattan Expressway, a project which would carve a route through Greenwich Village and divide Washington Square Park in two. By now, he has lost any altruism that might have motivated him in his earlier years (he’s driven some 250,000 people from their homes in the past 25 years) and he’s beyond caring about whose noses he puts out of joint. When local residents turn against his plan, he first attempts to ignore them and then, when pressed, schedules a public meeting only hours before it is due to start. This time, though, his tricks don’t work and his political backers desert him. It’s a fatal blow to the ‘master builder’.
Straight Line Crazy features an almost bare stage which becomes populated by occasional props needed to create the backdrop to various scenes. So, a table here or an armchair there is all that’s necessary to give the audience a sense of place. It’s a clever way to keep the play flowing, without the need for major set changes. It also opens up the stage for the actors to work their magic without interference. Fiennes is at his, well, finest. His is a highly verbose role and he has to deliver most of his lines in a state of high emotion because the opinionated Moses makes all his pronouncements at full throttle, hands on hips. Even his softer moments are driven by outspoken passion. It’s a bravura performance. His long-suffering secretary and co-worker, Finnuala, masterfully played by Siobhán Cullen, is one of the few people who know how to manage this irascible personality but even she is eventually worn down by him. Another significant role is that of Ariel Porter, also a long-term employee of Moses, well characterised here by Samuel Barnett.
It’s a rare National Theatre Live production that isn’t top drawer and Straight Line Crazy is no exception. It’s a wonderful chance to see Ralph Fiennes at his best, virtually in the room with him. And David Hare has, once again, created an extraordinarily vigorous, political drama of great power. It’s a blast!