Broken Glass

It’s 1938 in middle class Brooklyn, the year of Kristallnacht, and Sylvia (Pearl Chanda), who has been taking a close interest in what has been happening in Germany, suddenly becomes literally paralysed with fear.  No-one can understand why she is so afraid - this is all happening the other side of the ocean, so her distress is incomprehensible to those around her.  In the meantime, her husband Phillip (Eli Gelb) continues to reject and hide his Jewishness, with internalised antisemitism, a defender of Hitler and insisting that his name is Gellburg not Goldberg.  Whilst he works hard to assimilate, at the same time he is proud of what his son has achieved as a Jew, and it is really his journey we follow over the course of the play. 

The set is covered in newspapers, both historic and current, and there are four clocks on the wall showing times around the world which align by the end of the play, and the message is pretty clear, that we ignore the rise of fascism at our peril and the time is coming for all of us.  The lines in the play where they are talking about people being taken off the streets feels far too familiar at the moment.  It’s played in a two hour run without an interval and for the most part that makes sense as Phillip gradually unravels with guilt and fear, eventually reflecting the persecution his wife has been telling him about. 

This is a late Miller play (from 1994) and apparently the first time he properly confronts his own Jewish identity and experience.  Structurally it feels a bit of a mess, with far too many themes thrown in alongside those of Jewishness and persecution, for example the doctor with some weird treatment methods pointing to some Freudian themes; apparently Miller based the character on one of Marilyn Monroe's doctors, and calling him Dr Hyman is surely not an accident?

I saw this from a last minute cheap seat in the technical gallery, but with a very good view.  As well as the set, the lighting is interesting here, mainly keeping the house lights up so that the audience (or at least those in the lower level seats) are in full focus, with the cast sometimes sitting amongst them, ensuring everyone feels implicated.  There was also a live goldfish in a tiny bowl that I felt a bit sorry for too, but I suspect trying to make a similar point.  So, a bit messy as a play, but an interesting production, and its central message, which comes into sharp focus in the very last scenes, is very effective at this moment - we should be paying more attention, being paralysed with fear helps no-one, and we should be taking action while we can.