A Very Shy Snail

A bit of a Democracy picspam. Though this is a production from 2003, I managed to watch it two weeks ago due to the rather wonderful National Theatre archive. I went to see it because I’m quite madly in love with Roger Allam- who I discovered first through Cabin Pressure and then through his wonderful singing- and I came out in love with Allam’s character, the former West German leader Willy Brandt and even more in love with Allam.

At first the play looked to be rather dry- men in suits talking about post war German politics in an office, not the most inspiring of summaries- but then… wow. There was just so much in it; love, lust, friendship, betrayal, heroism, espionage and all the homoeroticism a person could desire.

I had previously thought that the most hypnotic thing about Allam was his voice, but he doesn’t actually do all that much speaking in this role (though, the speaking he does do is utterly sublime. He does some wonderful accents). His every action, look and gesture, however, left me entirely transfixed. And his eyes; I’d never realised how dark and expressive they were until I found myself staring into them.

It’s well, well worth seeing if you’re in London for a few hours. The archive is free to use and you need only e-mail to book; you don’t even need a reason other than a desire to watch the play.