The political significance of a hot dog is part of an entertainingly awkward, completely captivating staging of the real-life meeting between the Roosevelts and the Royals as World War Two lingers.
It is June 1939, and with Hitler’s threat looming large over Europe, King George VI arrives at Springwood, US President Roosevelt’s family home, with one mission: to court the American leader into backing the Allies should war arrive. While history tells us how the pact between America and the Allies eventually goes, this fascinating new play from Richard Nelson interrogates the foundations of the ‘Special Relationship’, as two families at the head of their respective nations meet for the first time.
At the head of the hosts’ table is President Roosevelt (Robert Lindsay), who, despite being physically ravaged by polio, remains upbeat, assertive and charismatic. There is an instant charm about Lindsay’s Roosevelt which is deliberately disarming, a calm poise which disguises the personal and professional tribulations bubbling underneath. One of these revolves around a strained relationship with First Lady Eleanor (Jemma Redgrave), with Redgrave providing a terrifically defiant display as a woman desperate for modernity, and whose life as an outspoken columnist puts her at odds with their Royal guests. Indeed, little is seen of affection between the Roosevelts in this play, yet there is a deft connection of duty which Lindsay and Redgrave draw out which bonds the two, even if all other connections appear eroded.
The same can largely be said for the Royal couple too. Andrew Havill’s King George VI is bound by duty and a sense of pressure that comes from not being the original intention for the throne. Havill is remarkable in balancing the monarch’s acknowledgement of his royal title with his desperation for a sense of normality and support, seen in his charming interactions and growing friendship with Roosevelt, while also strong in conveying the painfully restrictive stammer which is synonymous with George’s reign. Yet the most intriguing character here is Rebecca Night’s Elizabeth, George VI’s Queen. Night is constantly guarded as Elizabeth, unnerved by her fears that the President’s family is looking to undermine and humiliate the Royals, and fixates upon minor decorative details and the upcoming hot dog that her husband is scheduled to eat at a staged event between both parties. The food seems trivial, but what it reveals about monarchy, duty and vulnerability looms large.
While Springwood revolves around the powerful four, the ensemble too pull strings at the right moment in a piece which is just as much about politicking as it is relationships. The mercurial Daisy (Rachel Pickup) provides one of the play’s more awkward moments between King and President, while Roosevelt’s Mother (Eileen Nicholas) chips in with some well-delivered one-liners, with dressing-gowned royal aide Cameron (John Mackay) both providing some much-needed comic relief amid the tension between the families.
Originally, Springwood had been due to be directed by Stanley Tucci, yet with his departure, Wilson picked up the reins to both write and direct this piece to strong success. The decision to stage the piece semi-in-the-round, extending the proscenium arch front into the audience, gives a wrap-around to three-quarters of the set which enhances the voyeuristic qualities, but Tom Piper’s downstage heavy design leaves much of the back spacious and bare.
Nevertheless, Springwood is an engrossing new play sparking conversations about the differences and similarities between the two nations’ ‘royal’ families. The play’s episodic structure is slickly sequenced, never lingering on a moment for too long, and providing ample opportunity for terrific character development, not just between Roosevelt and King George but also between their respective wives too, in arguably the play’s most impressive scene.
While the play is, essentially, just about a largely uneventful state visit, the ramifications of the events here go on to have worldwide significance, and this new work has just as powerful an impact itself too. Springwood is a neat reminder of the lost art of soft diplomacy; a gentle approach to potentially catastrophic politics which is sorely lost today.
