Adelaide Fringe

Goering’s Defence – Adelaide Fringe 2011

Presented by Centre for International Theatre
Reviewed Sunday 27 February 2011

http://www.adelaidefringe.com.au
http://www.citadelaide.com

Venue: Royalty Theatre, 65 Angas Street, Adelaide
Season: Season ended
Duration: 80 mins

The two-performance season of Goering’s Defence was a disappointingly short reprise of this outstanding 80-minute monologue co-written by Guy Masterson, Andrew Bailey and the show’s star, Ross Gurney-Randall.

Spoken without an accent, Gurney-Randall depicts Hermann Goering, creator of Nazi Germany’s powerful Luftwaffe (air force), the brains behind the Gestapo, and the infamous concentration camps of the war. He was Hitler’s second and an unwavering supporter of the Fuhrer.

The text combines scripted dialogue with verbatim transcripts of the Nuremberg Trials, where Goering defends his actions leading up to and during World War II.

Both the text and Gurney-Randall are magnificent, with Masterson’s tight direction creating a fast-paced, gripping drama on an almost bare stage. The action jumps between the courtroom and a prison cell on the night before Goering’s scheduled execution. We witness the intelligence, passion and logic of this monster, who holds an arrogant faith in his reasoning for every action, right through to his final act of defiance.

Historically insightful, frighteningly convincing and completely enthralling.

Reviewed by Rod Lewis, Performing Arts Critic, Glam Adelaide.

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