Cyanide at 5

Written by Pavel Kohout a celebrated Czech /Austrian writer this is a play that feels lived. The phycological twists in the plot convey such strong sense of reality. This is a story that the playwright almost certainly needed to write and is what gives it impact.

This intriguing story begins when timid Irene finally makes a trip to Prague to find the author of what appears to be a crucial novel that she has a passionate relation with. It is only as the play progresses that we start to see the real reason she is there, and the truth behind the writing of the book and Irene’s shocking connection to it. As Irene, Phillippa Heimann is so perfect. From here willowy looks and here stooped nervous stance she totally embodies the character. Every moment of pain that she is feeling is contained in the nervous movement of her head and eyes, only to burst out when she cannot hold onto the truth any longer, and the ‘mouse’ turns to lion toying with its prey.

As the Zofia ‘author’ of ‘The Walls Between Us’, the book that she has supposedly penned, Lise-Ann McLaughlin is equally formidable. As the celebrated writer of a hugely successful novel, she is used to the fame and the visits of adoring fans. Giving them tea and her time and even her precious cherry brandy if they are particularly interesting. She gradually changes from confident pleasantries to suspicion and then crumbles under the pressure of the truth. It is observing her silent reactions to Irene’s revelations where she shows true quality.

As a 70-minute piece is does have a considerable amount of exposition in the first 10 minutes that is a necessity for the story but does make it a slow starter. However, as this physiological drama begins to reveal its twists and turns it becomes very powerful, reminding us of the costs of war and persecution and the rights and wrongs of profiting from the spoils.

Peter Kavanagh as director and promotor has a strong belief in this play and the playwright, and it is excellent that we get to see Kohout’s work and gain at least a glimpse of this writer’s authenticity.