A nail-bitingly thrilling snapshot in history that offers context for the current situation in Ukraine
As the great sage Rabbi Hillel said, "If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?" This might be the motto of Boris Berezovsky, Russian Jewish oligarch and antihero of Peter Morgan’s biographical drama, which feels almost contemporary despite being set in the early 1990s. Hillel, however, continued: "And being for my own self, what am I?" In Berezovsky's case, the answer would be a self-serving narcissist with a quicksilver intellect that served him well as he made millions of roubles. He is though, like all the Russians here, worthy of the 'patriots' of the title. First seen at London’s Almeida Theatre last July, Morgan's play was a powerful response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. One year later, as the war continues, it has, if anything, become more timely.
From the get-go, Tom Hollander’s Berezovsky is a whirlwind of energy, so focused on his power, influence and the billions that got him there that his own family come a poor second. Switching phones between his wife and a business associate, he leaves her to his secretary and takes a vital call from the deputy mayor of St Petersburg. "Putin. Vladimir," his secretary reminds him. No sooner is he sounding out Will Keen’s brilliantly observed Putin on the chances of a car dealership site in the heart of the city – and blatantly bribing him with a swanky new car – than he switches again to an even more ‘vital’ call. Korzhakov (Paul Kynman, terrifying in his icy fury), head of presidential security, is on the phone. The language is peppered with obscenities – and Korzhakov’s antisemitism. "Too many Berezovskys, Gusinskys [and] Friedmans," he mutters, "like a swarm of bees around our President… with slippery ideas for banks, shares, dividends and other capitalist mirages."
By the scene’s end, Berezovsky has set out his stall to buy a controlling stake in the state TV channel ORT and use it to keep Yeltsin in presidential power. And the other Jew key to the action, young would-be acolyte of Berezovsky, Roman Abramovich (Luke Thallon, who visibly ‘grows up’ as the action progresses) has entered his ‘holy of holies’, the office his then-role model has just left.
The literal bombshell that ends the scene, an attempt on Berezovsky’s life, works towards his role as would-be president-maker. He gains his controlling stake in ORT. His mission "to save Russia" with some nimble-footed bribery and trust in his own instincts see him huddled with Putin, who sets out an apparently convincing stall for "liberalising Russia… foreign investment, influence". As an election looms, he joins with fellow oligarchs to put their man Yeltsin "into the Kremlin". There are many casualties as the story unfolds. It’s not a spoiler to be reminded of the appalling end met by Berezovsky’s wingman and vocal opponent of Putin, Alexander Litvinenko (a visibly brave realist in Josef Davies), famously poisoned while seeking asylum in London.
As writer of Frost/Nixon (both play and film), award-winning drama The Queen and creator of Netfix hit The Crown, Morgan is almost legendary himself for placing real life players of the world stage, centre-stage. Director Rupert Goold successfully transfers the action from the intimacy of the Almeida to the West End, aided by designer Miriam Buether's magnificent versatile crimson set, which succeeds in almost dwarfing the long imposing table familiar in the press, with Putin at one end, dominating his ‘visitors’. Composer Adam Cork’s evocative score incorporates the sounds of a softer Russia, with popular songs conjuring its forests of yore in the summertime. The fates of so many in this true story – both those solely for themselves and those who were, like Hillel, for others – make Patriots a drama that will remain haunting long after you leave the theatre.
By Judi Herman
Photos by Marc Brenner
Patriots runs until Saturday 19 August. 7.30pm, 2.30pm (Wed & Sat only). From £15. Noël Coward Theatre, WC2N 4AU. patriotstheplay.com