Top Marx for a great cast and cheeky script
I would like to start by admitting that if I were more well-versed in communist/socialist history, this may well have been a 5 star review and I would probably have laughed at a handful more of the jokes – instead, I was only howling at most of them!
It is 1850 London, during a time of revolution across Europe, and Karl Marx has written his manifesto and has fled to England where he is safe from arrest. Or so he would think, if it weren’t for a few bad habits such as avoiding bailiffs, being a boozehound and other infidelities. Marx gets into all sorts of trouble but behind his cheeky demeanour, he truly is a tortured intellectual who believes he could be spreading a “virus of hope”.
Be prepared for a fast-paced, cheeky (and rude) take on quite a pivotal time in history. With characters that are radicals and anarchists, expect a few disagreements which might lead to more than “pens at dawn!” Marx is serious about what he believes in and would put his wife (…I mean life) on the line to create the future he envisions.
While an embellished set might have detracted from what was an engaging script and performance from the cast, the minimalist stage suited the intimate venue and themes of the piece well.
Ashley Harvey was hysterical as Marx, and his onstage bromance with Fred Engels was a charming (and at times, extremely silly) watch. The cast, in general, were excellent at delivering the whip-smart script which moved from highbrow to slapstick without taking the audience out of the story. Many members of the sizeable cast were easily switching between having German accents when in scene with non-German speaking characters, and into their own accents when in conversation with their German comrades – a very clever touch.
The history buffs may get more of a kick out of the slightly more obscure references, but as a non-expert, it was still a really enjoyable evening overall – filled with laughs but also with its share of genuinely heartfelt moments. This is a great insight into the life of early Marx and delved into the torment that can come with revolution and genius – Sacrifice, humanity, forgiveness and remorse.
And with that, Comrade, I’m sad to inform you the play concluded it’s run at the Old Fire Station, Oxford on Saturday 4th November. I hope you managed to attend!