Robert Lindsay delivers one of his best performances as Franklin D Roosevelt in Richard Nelson’s Springwood at Hampstead theatre, London. The play retells the 1939 diplomatic visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Roosevelt’s summer home, a mission to secure American support for the impending European war. The production runs until 25 July.
Context and resonances
Nelson, who previously wrote the 2012 film Hyde Park on Hudson and a 2009 BBC radio drama on the same subject, returns to the material with a rebooted stage play. The timing inflects the story with the 250th birthday of American independence and the shaky state of Nato under President Trump, whom King Charles recently met on a state visit. The play reflects on a diplomatic relationship where the British often feel it is more special than the Americans do.
Performances and direction
Lindsay’s FDR radiates geopolitical strength and a sharp brain behind a quiet voice, physically frail from polio but conspiring with the media to hide his disability. He conducts an affair with distant cousin Daisy Suckley (Rachel Pickup). Andrew Havill plays the king, suffering from what wasn’t yet called imposter syndrome, struggling with a stutter and catapulted into the palace by the abdication of his brother. Both men understand that “people see what they want to see”, a key phrase Nelson intends to apply to modern populists.
Rebecca Night’s charming, dutiful Elizabeth feels inflected with Claire Foy’s portrayal of the queen in The Crown. Jemma Redgrave’s Eleanor, visibly suppressing her true selves, shows the first lady to be an even worse job than vice-president. Subtle double perspectives are constantly present, such as when the king says, “My brother and I don’t talk to each other,” referencing royal siblings split by an American divorcee and a paedophile financier.
Critical reception
The play offers a fascinating example of how context can change content, with performances and Nelson’s direction crystallising the difference between raw political power and symbolic significance. The royal couple’s body language oozes unease at being in the position of supplicants to a civilian. The production is timely and thought-provoking, exploring themes of diplomacy, disability, and public perception.
