Paul Webster presents an in depth and well researched look into the last hours of Hitler’s life in the intimacy of the Inlingua rooms, an intimidating rant from the mouth of Hitler himself as he Seig Heils so close to his audience you feel a need to back away from his hand.
There was a peculiar demographic of couples in the audience, I wouldn’t have said it was a date show, but each to their own. With an audience of fifteen sat on three sides of the stage space, there’s a bond between us as we can make eye contact with each other that says, “is it OK for him to say this”.
Similarly we’re left wondering ift his man ever stops for air as he launches into the first twenty minutes or so of this show without a break. And it is no easy feat to have a one-man performance that lasts seventy minutes, especially not one as energetic as this.
The problem comes however with exactly how high energy this is. The performance becomes very one levelled, but when the breaks in the shouting and ranting do finally come, it builds for some lovely and almost touching monologues.
This is how history should be taught in schools but, a bit like a history class, seventy minutes is a long time for us to stay intently focused and the audience briefly drops out to read the wall posters or play with their hands. This is a brave show that takes on some sensitive subjects with varying success rates, but it definitely has its moments of gripping intimacy.
