Ibsen thought this his most important play, but with a potential running
time of eight hours, you’re unlikely to get the chance to see it again.
So all
credit to the National for putting on Jonathan Kent’s mixed dress production (a
British premiere) of this 1873 epic, cut to three and a half hours in Ben Power’s lucid
version.
The magnificent staging makes full use of the revolve and 50-strong cast.
Andrew Scott is magnetic as the fanatical Julian (AD331 – 363) who was
raised a Christian but, encouraged by Ian McDiarmid’s mystic Maximus, embraced pagan beliefs well before his brief, tyrannical reign as Emperor of
Rome.
However it’s still a long haul as Julian searches for truth from Constantinople
to Gaul to the Persian desert – and one with only limited appeal.
3/5
Olivier at the National, South Bank, SE1 9PX
020 7452 3000
Tube: Waterloo
nationaltheatre.org.uk
In rep till 10th August
£12 – £30 as part of the
Travelex season
– Louise Kingsley