Review: Chimerica at the Harold Pinter Theatre

Chimerica
Harold Pinter Theatre

Reviewed on Friday 16th August 2013

Chimerica begins in Tiananmen Square (Beijing), 1989. The central storyline follows Joe, a young American photojournalist who captures a piece of history. Twenty years later he discovers a cryptic message in a Beijing newspaper which drives him to discover the truth behind the unknown hero he captured on film. Joe goes on a search to find out who this man was, what happened to him and whether he could still be alive (and of course he finds love along the way).

Following a hugely successful run at the Almeida Theatre, Lucy Kirkwood’s gripping new play has transferred to the West End's Harold Pinter Theatre. I saw the play during its initial run and while the Harold Pinter is a little bigger than the Almeida, Chimerica is still just as gritty and hasn't lost any of its intimacy. The play's length feels a little shorter as scenes seem tighter, if anything Chimerica is now even better than before.

The play features something for everyone. Some scenes are very political while others simply explore the relationship between Joe and Tessa, played superbly by Stephen Campbell Moore and Claudie Blakley. It would be easy for such a long play to become slow in places but due to the short, choppy nature of the scene structure the piece is consistently fast moving and at times very intense. At no point did I find myself bored or losing interest - despite the story going round in circles.

Es Devlin's set design is sensational, revolving stages are certainly in fashion at the moment - but they work! At the centre of the revolving stage is a cube which opens up at different points throughout the show to reveal various sets. This makes the production incredibly slick and smooth. The projections are very effective, the whole production almost has a 'groundbreaking' feel.

Stephen Campbell Moore gives a charismatic, charming portrayal of photojournalist Joe. Throughout the piece Joe experiences many highs and lows, both in his professional and personal lives. Stephen carefully tackles each step of Joe’s eventful journey and gives a very likeable performance. Claudie Blakley is also fantastic as Tessa whose storyline brings a touch of humanity to the piece and Claudie's performance is very bold and, at times, funny.

The scenes which delve into some of the events which have taken place in Beijing are shocking and incomprehensible. I don't want to give too much away but it is truly heartbreaking to see Zhang Lin (played by Benedict Wong) re-live what he went through. Chimerica is a highly thought provoking piece of theatre.

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
andrew@westendframe.com

Chimerica runs at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 19th October 2013.
Click here to book tickets.

Photo Credit 1 - Es Devlin
Photo Credit 2 - Johan Persson

Follow @West_End_Frame