Patriots
Noel Coward Theatre, London

PATRIOTS lands in the West End, following an initial run at the Almeida in 2022. 

It tells the story of Russian power play following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and ending in 2013 with the death of central character Boris Berezovsky. It is through Berezovsky that we explore the rise and fall of the oligarchs and the quiet emergence of one Vladimir Putin.

Highly topical, you might say, but with one anomaly. 

We in the West, Berezovsky complains, have a fixed and largely ill-informed view of Russia as a homeland. We see it as a grim and dismal place, whereas Russians are moved to tears by its beauty and camaraderie. 

The promise of the play, then, is that we will gain a new, enlightened perspective on how it feels to be Russian.

The problem is the undisputed Britishness of playwright Peter Morgan and his choice of characters, who have not only already filled the pages of our own voracious newspapers but now, on stage, conform to the stereotypes already created for them by our media.

Imagine if a Russian playwright wrote a play in Russian for a Russian audience about what it’s like to be British, showing only a handful of the famed British elite. 

It doesn’t quite cut it, does it. This is the gripe. 

Theatrically, however, the production explores a theme of immense dramatic significance and raises questions that hold us gripped, especially in the second half when the very ruthlessness of those in conflict aspires to Shakespearean heights.  

Morgan may be couching his story in familiar terms and adopting a rather pedestrian linear narrative, but he unearths something of the complexity of power and the layers upon layers of motive that shape political allegiance.

Rupert Goold directs with the sure-footedness of the master we know him to be, and the cast transcend the script’s limitations with superb skill.

Tom Hollander as Berezovsky effortlessly commands the stage as our main protagonist and confidant, Berezovsky.

Josef Davies affectingly captures the troubled demeanour of a Litvinenko as he struggles to grasp who of those in power actually has right on his side.

Luke Thallon simply is the staggeringly youthful Roman Abramovich, to whom wealth seems to have fallen as if it were pollen from the trees, but it is Will Keen who injects the play with chilling menace through a portrayal of a Vladimir Putin so expertly and finely drawn that his very soul seems open to scrutiny, and his power terrifying in its calm and unequivocal purpose.   

What emerges is a recognition of Russia as a towering presence on the world stage.

Communism, capitalism, right and left enter the discourse, but are all subsumed in what claims to be a new nationalism, but which is simply a route to individual power. It’s a theme of immense import. 

Just a shame that Morgan limits the play to the British tabloid story, confirming us once again as Westerners on the outside looking in. 

Affecting, but with nothing new.

Runs until August 19; box office: 0344 482-5151, noelcowardtheatre.co.uk.