Leopoldstadt – Wyndham’s Theatre, London

A review of Leopoldstadt, a new play by Tom Stoppard on now at Wyndham’s Theatre. Seriously big historical events on a human scale.

Leopoldstadt

This isn’t actually a play that I had booked for, but sometimes things have a way of figuring themselves out. In this case, some friends were the ones that should have seen Leopoldstadt, but were thwarted by the vagaries of the London transport network. So I took the tickets off their hands, and had another nice evening out at the theatre.

Leopoldstadt is the newest play by Tom Stoppard. It premiered at Wyndham’s Theatre in London in January 2020 before – you guessed it – its run was cut short by lockdown. So it’s now back open for 12 weeks, until 30 October. This is not an easy play to stage right now, and it’s a miracle that none of the many cast members are coming down with Covid. For this is a company play, a big family tale with loads of actors. It follows a Viennese Jewish family from 1899 until 1955 – the significance of the title is that Leopoldstadt was the old Jewish quarter of Vienna.

As we follow the family through the decades we see them celebrating holidays (including a nice Christmas scene); discussing what it means to be Jewish; and reacting to the rising pressures and indignities of Nazism. It feels a little like that fable about frogs jumping out of boiling water, but staying in gradually heated water until they cook to death. Like so many families, not many of the Merz/Jakoboviczs make it to the 1955 scenes.

Theatre, Not Meta-Theatre

Leopoldstadt won Best New Play at the 2020 Olivier awards, and I can see why. It’s unlike most other shows on in London at the moment. Firstly there is the scale of it – such a large cast, luxurious sets, a big historic drama. It’s also very well constructed. During scene changes, archival photographs and films are projected onto a screen at the front of the stage. It’s a constant reminder that this is one family’s story, but also many families’ story.

Stoppard has said in an interview that, at this stage in his life and career, he enjoys theatre rather than meta-theatre. Leopoldstadt is certainly that. In fact, there is something quite comforting about it despite the sombre subject matter. This is proper storytelling, well written, relatable, serious when it should be and funny when it should be. Perhaps it helps that the story is so personal to Stoppard. Stoppard was born Tomáš Straussler in 1937 in Moravia. His father was killed fleeing Europe, his mother remarried a British army officer, and the family arrived in England in 1946. Stoppard only became reacquainted with his family’s story decades later, when a distant cousin sought him out on a trip to Czechoslovakia. Themes of trauma, memory and suppression, and grief, run through the play as they do through this experience.

Leopoldstadt is certainly not a light-hearted evening out, but it is a moving play, and an important one. One that I am pleased the theatre gods decided I should see (though with apologies to Kat and Chris who did not).

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3/5

Leopoldstadt on until 30 October 2021

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