Cyril Gély‘s Diplomacy is set in 1944 in Paris as the Allied forces are about to re-take it. Dietrich Von Choltitz (John Bell) is in the final stages of the Nazi’s last stand in the city and 
it is going to be big – the total destruction of the city. Explosive charges are being laid, there are plans to break the banks of the Seine and when it is all over Paris will be but a memory. His final instructions are sent with his trusty aide Frau Mayer (Genevieve Lemon) and his chief engineer Werner Ebernach (James Lugton). It is all about to unfold. Enter the mysterious Raoul Nordling (John Gaden) the Sweedish Consul. Its a great set up and a fascinating part of history. It is also a difficult one to maintain tension through as we know the outcome. There is still much to play with here and we have four extraordinary performers on the stage so much can be made of this situation. Unfortunately that is not quite what happens.
What is missing from this production is a lack of discoveries and stakes. Considering the story line that seems odd. For a start a significant part of the persuasive argument used by Nordling to convince Von Choltitz not to blow up Paris seemed to be ‘look at the beautiful city, how could you do that?’ rather than more significant persuasions that are revealed. When the moment of truth arrives the decision seems seems to come from nowhere. I never felt the risk or the dilemma. Whether this is due to the need of more rehearsals to fully flesh out the characters (certainly there were a number of line stumbles on opening night) or a directive/performance choice, I do not know but it took the edge off the drama. John Gaden gave a wonderful wity and cagy performance. John Bell had a commanding 
presence. James Lugton gave a very good performance as did Genevieve Lemon in the short amount of time they had on stage, alas there was just not enough done in the writing to justify the characters’ presence.
Michael Scott-Mitchell‘s design was creative and clean. The map of Paris spread across the entire stage, dominated. Genevieve Graham‘s costumes and Matt Cox‘s lighting also contributed perfectly to the production. Nate Edmondson‘s sound did well to contribute to what rising tension existed in the production.
Overall this was a fascinating story that was delivered very well at a superficial level. But it could have been so much more – a gripping tension filled character drama. Of course this is simply my opinion and in the end it matters not. The season had sold out before opening night.
Lynden Jones – Theatre Now & On The Town
