Geoffrey Streatfeild stars as David Farrelly in Lillian Hellman’s masterpiece political thriller Watch on the Rhine at the Donmar Warehouse.
Part of the Donmar’s 30th anniversary season, the first major London revival of Watch on the Rhine in over 40 years, directed by Ellen McDougall, opens on 15 December, with previews from 9 December, and runs until 4 February 2023. Tickets are on sale here.
It is the first production to provide £10 tickets for audiences aged under 30 to mark the special milestone of the Donmar’s 30th birthday with support from Associate Sponsor Barclays.
You’re starring in Watch on the Rhine at the Donmar Warehouse, what can you tell us about this play?
Set in 1940, it’s a neglected classic by a great writer. Through the prism of a Chekhovian style, country-house family homecoming, it evolves into an explosive thriller about America waking up to the threat of fascism.
This is the first time the play has been seen in London for over 40 years, why do you think now is the right time for a revival?
Like all great plays, it speaks to the time it was written and it speaks to us today – and pretty urgently at that. Hellman leaves us in no doubt of the need to engage with real and rising fascism right here, right now.
What was it about Lillian Hellman’s script that made you want to be part of the production?
I found it very moving. It threw me off balance. The way the political meets the personal is heart breaking. And it’s got good jokes.
Tell us a little more about your character?
He’s something of a failure and not much engaged with real life either emotionally or politically. But the play slaps him round the face and he finally wakes up, if only through self-interest.
What are you looking forward to most about working at the Donmar?
Being on stage. Being both intimate and epic, the Donmar is ideal for this play and the audiences there are always great. The kids in the show are dynamite so being backstage could be pretty lively too.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see Watch on the Rhine?
Book away. I think it’s a very special play and hopefully we’ll make it crackle.
