‘TRAVESTIES’: Tom Hollander. Photo: Joan Marcus

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TRAVESTIES
Written by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Patrick Marber
Through June 17, 2018
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

 

By Scott Harrah

Tom Stoppard’s highbrow plays are often an acquired taste, and that’s certainly the case with this well-done revival of Travesties, his 1974 comedy about an eccentric British consulate official living in Zurich, Switzerland in 1917 during World War I and how he socializes with Irish writer James Joyce, Dada poet Tristan Tzara and Communist revolutionary Lenin.

This tale of spies, revolutionaries, artists, refugees and intellectuals is not an easy show to sit through, which is why the Playbill contains a two-page guide to 1917 Zurich with bullet points about Lenin, the poet Tzara, Joyce and Englishman Henry Carr. If you go, definitely peruse the guide before the show starts to comprehend the background of 1917 Zurich, an oasis of neutrality and peace surrounded by Europe at war.

If one can get past the convoluted and confusing narrative, Travesties has a lot going for it, including exquisite performances from a gifted ensemble, clever sets and costumes by Tim Hatley and Mr. Stoppard’s witty, crisp, erudite dialogue.

Tom Hollander portrays Henry Carr, a wacky British fop who narrates the show. At times, Mr. Hollander’s flamboyant stage presence may remind one of Bravo’s Andy Cohen or Leslie Jordan (Beverly Leslie on “Will and Grace”). Henry goes back and forth in the show from an old man to his younger self, discussing his experiences with James Joyce (Peter McDonald), poet Tristan Tzara (Seth Numrich) and Lenin (Dan Butler) . The young version of Henry squabbles with James Joyce (Peter McDonald) over money for clothes for a production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.

The story centers on Henry’s insights about Joyce and two other major intellectuals in Zurich circa 1917: Lenin in the days before the Russian revolution and Tristan Tzara, the Romanian radical poet who helped found the “anti-art” movement Dada in Zurich’s Cabaret Voltaire club. Tzara says he is “the natural enemy of bourgeois art and the natural ally of the political left.”

Other figures include Bennett (Patrick Kerr) as Henry’s loyal servant, a man happy to deliver highlights of the daily news with a definite opinion about current events, from turmoil in Russia to insights about the art world. Gwendolen (Scarlett Strallen) is Henry’s beautiful blonde sister who is helping Joyce research and transcribe his magnum opus Ulysses. She falls in love with Tzara because she feels she’s destined to be with a poet. Cecily (Sara Topham), a Zurich librarian, likes to study poets and writers based on alphabetical order and works with Lenin on a book about imperialism, but later has romantic designs on Henry. Nadya (Opal Alladin) is Lenin’s dour wife, and grows increasingly frustrated as revolution breaks out back in Russia.

Making sense of everything, from the dialogue to the rambling narrative, can be a chore, and Act II does not flow as easily as Act I. Fortunately Patrick Marber directs the cast with breezy precision and gets entertaining, jaunty performances from the actors. Standouts include the sprightly Seth Numrich as Tristan Tzara (he has come a long way as an actor since he was in War Horse at Lincoln Center). Mr. Numrich exudes endless charm and plays the Dada poet with farcical zeal. Two women in particular, Ms. Topham and Ms. Strallen, hold their own brilliantly against the male characters. Mr. McDonald as Joyce, Dan Butler as Lenin and Patrick Kerr as Bennett are all superb.

Travesties is not for everyone, but Stoppard fans and anyone intrigued by European history and intellectuals and political theories of the early 20th century will find plenty of cerebral fodder to savor.

 

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 27, 2018
Reviewed at April 26, 2018 press performance.

 

‘TRAVESTIES’: (left to right) Patrick Kerr, Scarlett Strallen, Dan Butler, Seth Numrich, Opal Alladin, Peter McDonald, Sara Topham & Tom Hollander. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TRAVESTIES’: (left to right) Seth Numrich & Sara Topham. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TRAVESTIES’: Peter McDonald, Tom Hollander, Scarlett Strallen & Sara Topham. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TRAVESTIES’: (left to right) Dan Butler, Opal Alladin & Tom Hollander. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TRAVESTIES’: Sara Topham & Tom Hollander. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TRAVESTIES’: Tom Hollander. Photo: Joan Marcus