Mixed reviews for The Lives of Others stage adaptation

Culture · First reported 1 Nov, 23:58 · Updated 00:22

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The reviews agree that Robert Icke’s production uses striking stagecraft to present a story of Stasi surveillance, but differ on whether its performances and storytelling make the adaptation work.

The production adapts the 2006 German-language film about a Stasi officer spying on a writer and his girlfriend.
Both reviewers praise the visual and kinetic stagecraft, including a rotating home with transparent walls.
They differ on the adaptation’s effectiveness: one finds the drama’s character development and resolution wanting, while the other praises its tense first hour but says the later action becomes muddy.

Summary written by Lux AI from 2 articles

Key facts

Production: The Lives of Others, directed by Robert Icke.
Venue: Adelphi Theatre, London.
Adapted from: A 2006 German-language film.
Central character: Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler, who spies on playwright Georg Dreyman and actress Christa-Maria Sieland.