Marieluise The Gate Theatre, London W11
A woman's life may be fitted into 22 scenes and last 90 minutes. Marieluise Fleisser was Brecht's muse and - for a season - a successful playwright herself. She is the subject of this intense piece by a German writer, Kerstin Specht, that is as tightly structured as the pleats of a fan and passes like a breeze.
The translation, by Rachael McGill, is a particular pleasure, full of fresh, arresting turns of phrase. No surprise to learn that it won the Gate Translation award.
Catherine Kanter plays Marieluise in a saucer-eyed, fervent manner like a slightly mad wooden doll. Chris Myles's Brecht is handsome, earnest and curmudgeonly. But the play's intensity, especially about writing as a vocation, can become too much and can be precious, although even this is often saved by McGill. I loved the line: 'I am not a girl made of paper.'
There is charm in Soutra Gilmour's bohemian set with its wooden chairs and old, red velvet curtain. And I especially liked the lyrical staging, the use of sepia lighting, the white cloth puppets and the sea of blue cotton. There is much grace and ingeniousness in Erica Whyman's production.
