Cambridge rocks as Marxism rolls

ROCK ’N’ ROLL
Duke of York Theatre

TOM Stoppard’s Rock ’n’ Roll – a scholarly account of the rise and fall of radical thought over the last 40 years directed by Trevor Nunn – is a modern day masterpiece.
The frighteningly intellectual dialogue, the profundities of which will no doubt be chewed over by literary scholars for years to come, pits the ideals of the resolute Marxist professor Max (Brian Cox) against the disciple Jan (Rufus Sewell) who, after leaving Cambridge for Prague, becomes disillusioned with Communism.
The scene switches from utopian debates in Cambridge University to a revolutionary reality in Czechoslovakia from the emergence of the democratic movement in Eastern Bloc, from the Prague Spring of 1968 to the Velvet Revolution of 1989.
The intellectual battles between Max and Stoppard’s protagonist Jan – a Czech-born Jew based on the playwright himself – are irresistibly eloquent. Although this play is great to watch, and listen to, it is also one to read (copies of the text sold like hot cakes in the foyer after the show).
Jan’s character – who claims that changing political “systems” is futile and that “Marx was wrong, capitalism adapted” – will not win many fans in the revolutionary movement. Stoppard was hardly the darling of the far left as it was.
Although Max ages with dignity, he suffers a near mental breakdown, struggling to come to terms with a life seemingly wasted and a country that has “lost its nerve”.
The audience gets light relief from the intricate debate with blasts of rock and roll music punctuating the scenes.
The Stones, Pink Floyd, the Beach Boys and most notably Syd Barrett, who died last month. A haunting rendition of Barrett’s Golden Hair opens the play.
Stoppard lays heavy emphasis on the relationship between rock and roll and radical thought. When Jan’s favourite band, The Plastic People of the Universe, is imprisoned, he turns dissident becoming involved in the Charter 77 movement.
Sewell stole the show and a special mention must go to his language coach, Belsize Park’s Jarmilla Karas, for transforming his raspy voice into something mysterious and convincing.
Without sounding wet, Stoppard shows us that love is what we should strive for, ensuring Rock ’n’ Roll ends on an upbeat note.

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