''Straight Line Crazy'' is a play written by David Hare. The first production, directed by

Nicholas Hytner Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner (; born 7 May 1956) is an English theatre director, film director, and film producer. He was previously the Artistic Director of London's National Theatre. His major successes as director include ''Miss Saigon'', ''Th ...

, opened in previews at the

Bridge Theatre The Bridge Theatre is a commercial theatre near Tower Bridge in London that opened in October 2017. It was developed by Nick Starr and Nicholas Hytner as the home of the London Theatre Company, which they founded following their tenancy as execu ...

in London on 16 March 2022 before officially premiering on 23 March 2022. The play is set in the 1920s through the 1960s in New York City and centres around the life of

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid 20th century. Despite never being elected to any office, Moses is regarded ...

portrayed by

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal S ...

. Fiennes stars as Moses, once a powerful man in New York and the "master builder" of infrastructure from new parks and bridges to over 600 miles of expressways. During his working life, he served on the

New York State Council of Parks The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) is a state agency within the New York State Executive DepartmentParks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law § 3.03. "The office of parks, recreation and ...

and was the

New York Secretary of State The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York who leads the Department of State (NYSDOS). The current secretary of state of New York is Robert J. Rodriguez, a Democrat. Duties The sec ...

. Though never elected to office, he used a mix of charm and intimidation to manipulate the people and events in his favour including the Governor of New York

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a ...

, portrayed in the play by Danny Webb. Motivated at first by a determination to improve the lives of New York City’s workers, he created new parks, new bridges and 627 miles of expressway to connect the people to the great outdoors. But in the 1950s, groups of citizens at grass roots began to organize against his schemes and against the motor car, campaigning for a very different idea of what a city was and for what it should be. The play was shown in cinemas in association with

National Theatre Live National Theatre Live is an initiative operated by the Royal National Theatre in London, which broadcasts live via satellite, performances of their productions (and from other theatres) to cinemas and arts centres around the world. About I grew ...

in the fall of 2022. It was announced that the production will make its New York stage debut,

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

at The Shed running from October to December in 2022.

Background

The play was written by British playwright David Hare and directed by

Plot

The show revolves around

who at the start of his career, helped create dozens of bridges and miles of road ostensibly to better serve the community. His charm helped him. His intimidating presence ensured that everyone listened to him. This change was met by public outcry though in later years. Regardless of his actions, Moses changed the New York City skyline.

Cast

Productions

2022 National Theatre

The play originated at the National Theatre, written by David Hare, and directed by

, the production opened in previews at the

in London on 16 March 2022 before officially premiering on 23 March 2022.

2022 Off-Broadway

It was announced that the production will make its New York stage debut,

at The Shed. This production will be directed jointly by

and Jamie Armitage with Fiennes returning. Preview performances began on 18 October and the production opened on 26 October with performances through 18 December 2022.

NT Live screenings

A performance of the play was recorded and screened in UK cinemas on 26 May 2022, and shown in international locations on 8 September 2022, through NTLive.

Critical reception

Critical reception for the play has been mostly positive, in particular for the leading performance of Robert Moses by Ralph Fiennes. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' declared, "Fiennes is all boldly convincing, controlled threat, his monomania teetering on the edge of malevolence". In ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

s five star rave review, critic Mark Lawson described Fiennes' performance as "enthralling" adding, "This is Hare’s most dramatically gripping and politically thoughtful play since ''

The Absence of War ''The Absence of War'' is a play by English playwright David Hare, the final installment of his trilogy about contemporary Britain. The play premiered in 1993 at the Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly know ...

'' three decades ago and provides another acting triumph for Fiennes". The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called the play "sputtering" though "still a pleasure," and described Fiennes' performance as "gloriously entertaining."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Straight Line Crazy Plays by David Hare 2022 plays Works set in the 1920s Works set in the 1950s Works set in the 1960s