David Lan's new play, The Land of the Living, directed by Stephen Daldry at the Dorfman Theatre, explores the little-known history of displaced persons (DPs) after the Second World War. The drama focuses on displaced minors, including a category of 'special' children abducted by the Nazis for their Aryan breeding programme. These children, mostly Slavic, were given new identities and German families if they met genetic requirements.
The story follows young Thomas, whose Polish identity was erased and who was raised as a German. He is taken from his adoptive family to become a temporary charge of Ruth, a UN relief worker played by Juliet Stevenson. Ruth works with American forces to return children to their original homes. Forty-five years later, an adult Thomas (Tom Wlaschiha) confronts Ruth in London, demanding explanations about his past.
Stevenson delivers a typically muscular performance, but it is Artie Wilkinson-Hunt, playing the young Thomas on press night, who steals the show. Under Daldry's direction, Wilkinson-Hunt is an angry, mercurial force, displaying baleful, melancholy and tender qualities. Miriam Buether's traverse set is intricate, with a kitchen representing the present and a bookcase and piano evoking 1945.
Despite strong performances and an impressive set, the play's pace is too slow at nearly three hours. Characters around Ruth feel generic, from cocky American GIs to stereotypically British aid workers. A group of aristocratic Germans in black appear as cartoon villains. The dense plot leaves insufficient space for emotional impact, and the set's empty middle span hinders intimacy.
Nevertheless, the production resonates with contemporary issues of asylum seekers and refugees. The play suggests that those protesting against immigration might benefit from watching it as a way to restore their humanity.
