Emperor and Galilean

The prospect of Henrik Ibsen’s longest play is a daunting one, even when cut from nine hours to three. The prospect, however, of its first stage performance in English is an exciting one, and it is this which was the prevailing sentiment of the evening.

Set in the middle of the fourth century, the play follows Julian the Apostate on his journey from pious Christian imprisoned in his uncle’s court to pagan Roman Emperor attempting to restore the empire to its ancient polytheistic values. The play is first and foremost a foray into government, religion and the overlap of the two, and it is among these ideas that the concept of the Third Reich originates as the ideal synthesis between the realms of flesh (paganism) and spirit (Christianity) – an idea which would become central to the Nazi ideology. It can hardly be denied, with this historical hindsight and the prevalence of religious fundamentalism in international politics today, that Ibsen’s play is screamingly relevant.

It is also screamingly acted, from frenzied marches through the streets to Andrew Scott’s (Moriarty in television’s Sherlock) portrayal of Julian, who reached fever pitch early on and could do nothing but remain in agitated hysteria for the remainder of the play. Ian McDiarmid balanced this somewhat with his chilling depiction of Maximus the mystic, outshone only by Nabil Shaban’s disturbingly sinister Emperor Constantius. Even the memory gives me goosebumps.

The many sets are impressive but simple – often just one or two pieces under the ominous shadow of a hanging crucifix or blood-covered altar (perhaps there’s not such a difference between the two). The National Theatre’s drum revolve gets such an active workout that I was slightly out of breath on its behalf; although I’m equally willing to put this down to the absorbing action on stage. There’s nudity, there’s torture – it’s got it all. I was gripped.

However, I remain unconvinced by the mixed-period costumes; some men wore togas, others skinny black suits – nay, some wore both. Along with the whirring helicopters projected onto screens amid the sound of gunfire, this added nothing to the play. We’re watching in 2011. We know.

Confusing anachronisms aside, Ben Power’s adaptation is a success no less rampant than the Bacchic worshippers who ravish the stage; if this can be said of a play that was first published 140 years ago, Emperor and Galilean is a striking and refreshing piece of new theatre.

Emperor and Galilean runs until 10 August at:

National Theatre
South Bank
Waterloo
SE1 9PX

Tel: 020 7 452 3000

Image by Catherine Ashmore