Set in 1982 and split between Lisbon and Paris, Blind Eye captures moments in the life of a prosecutor gathering evidence against a suspected Nazi war criminal.
Justice always comes with a price however, and each of the characters learns that there is a price to pay for ‘doing the right thing’ or ‘being good’.
The themes that dominate Blind Eye are indeed thrilling: moral ambiguity, the justice system, war criminals and stained family relationships. However, these elements alone do not a thriller make.
The concept is an interesting one but unfortunately not all of the components come together as smoothly as they might. The scenes in act one are short and sharp with almost aggressive scene changes whilst the pace drops considerably in act two. The narrative also starts to meander and, although the score tries to build up tension with its discordant piano notes, the atmosphere briefly created in act one is lost.
That’s not to say that there aren’t some strong performances (Gil Sutherland plays Otto with a real glint in his eye and Anthony Green’s monologue is impassioned) but the script and direction don’t allow them to become fully-rounded characters.
There is, I think, great potential in this idea and certainly scope for further development but in its current form it is an interesting story rather than a thrilling play.