Last week, the far-right AfD enjoyed significant success in German elections. Playwright Manfred Karge seems almost prescient. His seminal play Man to Man has been updated to include references to the resurgence of right-wing politics in Germany, adding an unsettling contemporary resonance to a work that already felt remarkably relevant. The English translation by Anthony Vivis, revised by Stephen Unwin, helped launch the career of Tilda Swinton when it first played at the Traverse Theatre in the late 1980s before transferring to the Royal Court.Now, as part of the Royal Court’s 70th anniversary season, Man to Man returns to the theatre that helped cement its reputation, with Swinton reprising the role that first brought her widespread acclaim. Unwin also returns to direct, alongside designer Bunny Christie, reuniting much of the original creative team for this landmark revival.
A monologue performed solely by Swinton, Man to Man technically spans decades. One later addition addresses the fall of the Berlin Wall, represented by little more than strips of red tape on Christie’s brilliant white set. Yet the heart of the play remains firmly rooted in Weimar Germany. Ella Gericke has lost her husband to cancer and, faced with financial ruin and the growing threat of the Third Reich, survives by putting on her husband’s clothes and assuming his identity.
As “Max”, she is able to continue working as a crane operator. The deception initially succeeds, but with the outbreak of war comes military conscription, and the medical examination that would inevitably expose Max as Ella. What follows is a story of survival in its rawest form, as Ella is forced to continually reinvent herself in order to stay alive.
It remains a gripping narrative, although it occasionally wanders. When the play first premiered, conversations around gender identity were far less commonplace, and Ella’s assumption of a male identity would likely have felt even more radical than it does today. Some passages now carry less of their original shock, but Unwin’s assured direction keeps the pacing taut and the transitions fluid.
Christie’s sparse white set, dotted with fragments of pre-war furniture, evokes both the claustrophobia of Ella’s small apartment and the vast historical forces closing in around her. Ben Ormerod’s lighting design works hand in hand with the set, transforming the blank canvas into an ever-shifting landscape of memory, fear and survival. Together with projections that spill across the three surrounding walls, the production continually expands beyond the confines of the room while intensifying the tension of Ella’s predicament.
The revival itself is something of a coup, but it is Swinton’s extraordinary performance that makes Man to Man essential viewing. Dressed for much of the evening in red Y-fronts and a string vest, with her knees scuffed, face pale and covered in scabs, and hair standing on end, she creates an unforgettable portrait of Max. Swinton fully inhabits the character, capturing both the practicality and desperation of a woman forced to erase herself in order to survive. There is humour, resilience and heartbreak in equal measure, but also a constant sense of vigilance, as though exposure could come at any moment. Alone on stage for ninety minutes, Swinton commands every second with a magnetic presence.
While today’s geopolitical climate perhaps places us closer to the world of the play than to the era in which it was written, Man to Man remains an astute and compelling piece of theatre. Times and attitudes may have changed, but Swinton’s performance feels every bit as powerful as its reputation suggests, making this revival a rare opportunity to witness a landmark production that still has plenty to say.
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