Brighton Theatre Royal Review: The Spy Who Came In From The Cold

Rating: ★★★★

Running Dates: Tuesday 2nd June-Saturday 6th June

Where to see it: Brighton Theatre Royal

Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes incl. interval

Review

Adapting a Cold War thriller into a relatively short stage production presents a significant challenge. John le Carré's The Spy Who Came In From The Cold follows weary British intelligence officer Alec Leamas as he becomes embroiled in a dangerous mission across Cold War Berlin. The novel is full of complex characters, layered backstories and a dense plot built on a series of bluffs and double bluffs.

In the play, the exposition is cleverly handled in the first half, allowing the audience to keep up despite the density of the source material. The second half is even more compelling. Once the plot and various characters have been established, the production draws the audience into political intrigue, a love story, and a sinister web of deception.

The staging is especially impressive. The set is stripped back and almost dreamlike, with furniture appearing and disappearing and characters fading in and out of Leamas's story. The minimal use of props is effective, mirroring the cold, sterile atmosphere and tension of the historical context and the bureaucratic nature of espionage. The swift transitions between scenes, timelines and locations are particularly compelling. The audience can follow the narrative while still sharing in the confusion and uncertainty experienced by Alec Leamas as he is manipulated by forces beyond his control.

Stage lighting is cleverly used to signal when we enter Alec Leamas's interior world, where he engages in sharp exchanges with fellow intelligence officer George Smiley and Control, the enigmatic head of Britain's intelligence service, known as "The Circus".

At the rear of the stage, the Berlin Wall looms throughout the production, a constant reminder of the political division that drives the story and shapes the fate of its characters.

George Smiley strikes an ominous figure, looking down upon the action like a puppet master overseeing his creation, as Leamas is pushed and pulled in different directions. At the centre of the action, Ralf Little convincingly captures the pragmatic but vulnerable character of Alec Leamus, attempting to escape the grasp of the wider machinery of the British intelligence and ultimately ‘come in from the cold’.

Overall, this was a difficult novel to bring to the stage, but through clever lighting, creative staging and strong performances, it captures the intrigue and moral ambiguity of le Carré’s universe. It is well worth a night out. 

Written by Phoebe Simpson

We were kindly gifted these tickets in exchange for a review