Hampstead theatre – Hamza Jahanzeb

A play based on the real-life tale of a gender-queer couple in 18th-century Prussia can be described as a hilarity-inducing, moving, and at times jarring.

Linck & Mulhahn by Ruby Thomas ; Cast: Maggie Bain, Helena Wilson, Lucy Black, Daniel Abbott, David Carr, Marty Cruikshank, Kammy Darweish, Qasim Mahmood, Leigh Quinn and Timothy Speyer ; Hampstead Theatre ; Credit and copyright: Helen Murray www.helenmurrayphotos.com

I’ll admit it: I’m a big fan of whatever the Hampstead Theatre producing team offer, despite the news of big changes in December 2022 with Arts Council funding being slashed meaning the the artistic director Roxana Silbert was to step down.

It is, after all, the place where the 2018 London revival of Tony Kushner’s Caroline, or Change debuted (starring the tour de force that is Sharon D Clarke which transferred to the West End and subsequently appeared on Broadway, prior to suspended production due to COVID-19, but did eventually reopen in Jan 2022); simply put, the theatre excelled in its authentic narratives of under-represented stories as we also saw last year with Pooja Ghai’s erudite and simply breathtaking Lotus Beauty.

However, after a jerky start to 2023’s Spring season with last month’s show (The Art of the Illusion) in the downstairs space, it would appear that the main stage also hasn’t quite found its footing with the world premiere of Ruby Thomas’ Linck & Mülhahn.

It follows the tale of two lovers looking to live beyond the confines of eighteenth-century society. On the one hand we have Anastasius Linck (played by Maggie Bain), who has deserted the army and is eventually sentenced to death for charges related to sodomy. Note: if you want to know a story of queer joy, I would send you elsewhere for this production’s second act is rife with misgendering (typical of its time, I should add), and may make some from the community discussed at unease as a result of this. Maggie Bain elaborates on the matter on a recent Instagram post in the lead up to Press Night after Theatre Queers Meet Up expressed concern on Twitter.

Linck & Mulhahn by Ruby Thomas ; Credit and copyright: Helen Murray www.helenmurrayphotos.com

Returning to the action on stage, the love interest is played convincingly by Helena Wilson. The outfits are of period costume nature and leave something new desired as it appears to be over-kill with recent productions seemingly unable to bring fresh ideas (given the modern sound of The Clash feature during scene changes); alas, when it comes to costume departments there’s nothing of the sort which is a peculiar choice in all honesty.

As the action moves on and in the second half, there’s some brilliant performances (especially in the comedic timing). Qasim Mahmoud and Sammy Darweish turn in brilliant performances, with their comedic timing prompting unanimous bellows of laughter.

This production excels when the love between the titular characters is at the forefront, as Maggie Bain and Helena Wilson brilliantly portray the anguish of longing for and finding something unobtainable in your world. The set design (credit Simon Wells) uses the revolve for some impressive scene transitions, though not entirely smooth, with at times jarring sounds.

It doesn’t do much other than that, and I wonder if it felt a little rushed at times, and the relevance of certain character attributes (the inclusion of the bowl of peaches during scenes with Catherina and her mother) a little too discreet. Further, the sound is jarring when it shifts scenes; this, along with the clumsy set changes often induces cringe-worthy moments in an otherwise engaging production.

Linck & Mulhahn by Ruby Thomas ; Credit and copyright: Helen Murray www.helenmurrayphotos.com

It is, after all, an intriguing story and I am glad it exists. But one must address the overall execution as well as the very legitimate concerns of Transparency (from those who voiced their legitimate concerns) for future productions from other producing houses; going forward, given that it was left to the only Queer person to address these in their own time and within a personal capacity, Creative teams really ought to do better when making it clear how Queer people’s stories are to told.

To conclude, this piece does what the writer wants it to do: to show that queer people have always existed, and I’m looking forward to more of these stories for audiences to broaden their learnings on marginalised groups.

Listing information: Until 4 March 2023:

MAIN STAGE – WORLD PREMIERE

LINCK & MÜLHAHN
By Ruby Thomas

Directed by Owen Horsley

Designer Simon Wells

Lighting Designer Matt Daw

Sound Designer Max Pappenheim

Casting Director Helena Palmer

Assistant Director Dewi Johnson

Cast Daniel Abbott, Maggie Bains, Lucy Black, David Carr, Marty Cruickshank, Kammy Darweish, Qasim Mahmood, Leigh Quinn, Timothy Speyer and Helena Wilson.

Address: Hampstead Theatre, Eton Avenue, London, NW3 3EU

Box Office: 020 7722 9301 (Mon – Sat 10.30am – 7pm) | hampsteadtheatre.com

Dates: Friday 27 January 2023 – Saturday 4 March 2023

Audio Described Performance: Saturday 25 February at 2.30pm with a Touch Tour at 1pm

Captioned Performance: Tuesday 28 February at 7.30pm

Photo credit: Ellie Kurts
Writer: Alexis Michalik
Translated by: Waleed Akhtar
Director: Tom Jackson Greaves

Last year, I loved Lotus Beauty at the Hampstead Theatre, so when asked to return to see the Downstairs section of the theatre – I leapt at the chance. Admittedly, I’d not heard about the success of the original French production (Alexis Michalik) which had its premiere in Paris in 2014. The translator of the French into English is Waleed Akhtar (The P Word), who did a fine job using the source material; though this production’s flaws were sadly not to do with the text nor performances from individuals but the presentation to the audience.

At times, the strands of narrative are hard to understand and where their plot seems to be going. As a viewer, it was my own interest in the the main storyline of December and April that I felt the piece could have built more on think. The writing, however, was searing and lifted the performances. The energy of the cast members showed to be ecstatic, and they gained laughs on the comic moments – in particular cast member Rina Fatania whose Midlands (regional) accent was a delight to the ears. Can someone provide her with a one-woman show? As she deserved a platform for the superb comedic timing, hilarity and ability to convey various regional UK accents.

Overall, the thing I feel let this down was the missed directional opportunities, and a convoluted nature of the excess character who could well have been cut. In fact, the entire piece could have had a shaving off. I would also question the lighting being simply limited to the grey velvet curtains and could have been elevated also. The space needed to pull this off perhaps would have better suited a larger stage, and a fully realised vision from a director to showcase just how French writing may achieve more of an impact for London’s eager audiences.

Book your tickets – ends 28 Jan 2023: https://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/whats-on/2022/the-art-of-illusion/

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