A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians
Soho Theatre
The Man Who Had All the Luck
Donmar Warehouse
Brave thrusts at the Soho. A wacky new play by Polish wunderkind Dorota Maslowska has been translated and directed by the theatre’s artistic supremo, Lisa Goldman. It opens with a pair of ugly drunken hitch-hikers speaking English in dense Slavic accents. They get a lift from a mild-mannered twit who speaks English in an English accent and after threatening him with murder they set off on a bizarre journey across Poland towards Warsaw. To be properly understood the play requires an exact knowledge of Eastern Europe’s recent history. Migrants from down-and-out Romania have been swarming into prosperous Poland ever since the Berlin Wall came down and complex tensions have emerged between the reluctant hosts and the overeager guests. But these conflicts have absolutely no resonance here and though Goldman tries hard to squeeze Poland’s ethnic contours on to our own it’s like putting a waistcoat on an octopus.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in