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Broken Glass

 
Richard Beck Review by Richard Beck 5 Published: 5 Mar 2026 Multiple Venues Show Dates: 22 Feb 2026-18 Apr 2026

Director Jordan Fein has brilliantly placed Arthur Miller’s tense psychological drama Broken Glass in a pit-like arena at the Young Vic theatre, creating an all-encompassing air of inescapability and claustrophobia for characters trying to deal with the fact that in life “you draw your cards face down, you turn them over and you do your best with the hand you’ve got”.

You draw your cards face down, you turn them over and you do your best with the hand you’ve got.

This first major London production of the play in 15 years proceeds for an uninterrupted two hours, with little let-up in the mounting intensity of questioning, revelations and confessions in the search for answers to a bizarre situation.

Sylvia Gellburg (Pearl Chanda) runs the emotional gamut from calm acceptance of the strange paralysis that has inexplicably taken control of her legs to the ragings of a sexually frustrated and fearful wife who has nevertheless stayed by her husband. Now, from the comfort of her Brooklyn home, she is also overwhelmed by events in Germany. It is 1938 and the horrors of Kristallnacht fill the newspapers she obsessively buys, compulsively reads, then bundles up in her sitting room. The image of elderly Jewish men being forced to scrub the pavements with toothbrushes particularly haunts her.

Based on his experience as a student in Germany, Dr Harry Hyman (Alex Waldmann) believes the people to be good-natured and that these events will soon pass, in the same way he believes Sylvia’s condition will disappear once they find the cause. He believes her paralysis to be psychosomatic, but he is no psychologist and she dreads the prospect of being thought mad. As the doctor to her husband, and despite his lack of appropriate qualifications, he continues to “treat” her and espouse amorous intentions towards her in keeping with his past.

Meanwhile Philip Gellburg’s (Eli Gelb) tormented existence goes from bad to worse – a man who has never come to terms with being Jewish yet prides himself on being the first to attain such an elevated realtor position in the company. Gelb incrementally portrays the undermining of Philip through the mystery of his wife’s condition, his impotence and his shortcomings at work, despite his vehement protestations of being a good husband and a successful businessman. Waldmann excels in the interrogative scenes with him, as he does with Chanda, as a man passionately trying to do his best and get others to be honest and confront their demons.

Mingling among these flawed titans, Nancy Carroll brings a knowing understanding of her situation as Harry’s wife, along with an outrageous scripted laugh. Nigel Whitmey captures the arrogance and control of a property magnate as Philip’s boss, while Sylvia’s sister – the most down-to-earth of them all – is realistically portrayed as a classic Jewish woman from Brooklyn by Juliet Cowan, who knows a lot and has to have it dragged out of her.

This late play by Miller, in which he reveals many of his own misgivings, is not his most outstanding work but it is stamped with the hallmarks of his greatness and is done justice in this gripping production. Imaginative yet simple set design by Rosanna Vize, and lighting by Adam Silverman, along with excellent casting from Julian Horan, make it an all-round tragic joy.

Amir Nisi

Richard Beck

A graduate in theology and education, Richard acted and contributed to dance, drama and music productions throughout his teaching career. He joined Broadway Baby in 2014 and is now our Editor-in-Chief. He usually disappears to warmer climes for the winter to pursue his passion for travel.

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The Blurb:

It's like she’s connected to some... truth that other people are blind to. 

Brooklyn, New York, 1938. Sylvia Gellburg reads about the violent attacks against Jewish communities carried out an ocean away in Germany. Most people look away, believing it will pass. Not Sylvia. Her obsession grows and soon she loses her ability to walk — a paralysis her husband, Phillip, believes is all in her head.  Sylvia forms an undeniable bond with Dr Hyman and soon the cracks in her marriage become impossible to ignore. In the face of silence, Sylvia rises in defiance.  

Jordan Fein (Fiddler on the Roof) brings this rarely performed Arthur Miller play to the Young Vic; a bold and passionate story about the consequences of disconnecting with the realities of our world. 

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