The central character Michael Young (Ed DeRuiter), a Cambridge history student, says, “this is the true story of what never happened”.
Taken from Stephen Fry's 1996 novel Making History, its plot involves the creation of an alternative historical timeline in which Adolf Hitler never existed. It shows how the idea takes Young over, affecting his life and three-year relationship with Jane (Kerry Trewern).
Young, a brilliant young history student’s life is changed when he meets Leo Zuckermann (Danny Farrimond), an ageing physicist with a theory that can change worlds. The first half introduces the characters and plot and is a little slow to take off, but it speeds up in the second half.
It is the first-ever stage adaptation of Fry's novel, a world première, a science fiction adventure that brings physics and history crashing together! While most of the book is written in standard prose, a couple of chapters are written in the format of a screenplay. The book won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History.
The inspired set by Colin McPherson, who also adapted the novel, is covered with pictures of about 40 characters from history, Shakespeare to Ghandi, Queen Elizabeth 1st to Hitler. They open to reveal shelves, cupboards and a variety of spaces, integral to the play without cluttering it up. They instantly establish another location, flat, laboratory or study to name a few.
While the changes are fairly quick, the constant blackouts in which they occur break the flow. Many props are not needed and would save time being set and struck, a conversation does not need a table to sit at, while porridge is mentioned, couldn’t it be off stage, just a small line change. Most packages in the post have stamps and in such an intimate space, details like this are noticed, but easily corrected.
Edinburgh Theatre Arts was founded in the '50s, first performing at the fringe in 1972; a volunteer group, they strive to achieve professional standards producing high quality plays. If this is typical of their productions, they are to be commended; it is a joy to see a quality play based on such an iconic writer's work performed with a real set, eight capable actors, an interval and a bar! It is the first production I have seen there but will not be the last, well worth a visit.