National Theatre Live: Good (2023) YTS

Reviewed by Susan 10 / 10

Profound story, beatifully eecuted

Reviewed by 7 / 10

The banality of evil

About how regular, decent people bow down to repressive, criminal regimes in troubled times throughout history. Or how they start out as good people and end up as enforcers and enablers of murderous ideologies. Possibly the majority of people are like this. Not willing to notice, to say something, to stand up, to refuse to participate. Just do what everybody does, why risk getting punished?John Halder is a novelist and a university professor with a senile mother, an incapable wife and three children that he cares for. He is neurotic and hears bands in his head all the time. He is a good man, of course he is. He loves his wife and his children and he would never leave them. Or so he thinks. He leaves them for a student of his and he joins the Nazi party cause the Jewish thing is a "temporary racialist aberration", he tells himself and his Jewish friend Maurice, his only friend by his own admission, whom he keeps placating as things go from bad to worse and certainly not "temporary". The mental gymnastics he does to accept the new ideas, laws, orders as matter of fact and only logical are probably the most interesting passages in the play. He is not the only one doing if, of course, Freddie, also in the SS does it, his new wife Anne encourages and helps him to process the changes. It's what people have been doing to "survive" all through history. Do what everybody else does. If they had had an ounce of sense, all the Jews would've left early.The word "good" is used quite a lot in the dialogue. At some point I started to actually take notice.I may have watched a shortened version, under two hours. Although I must confessed it made me sleepy quite a few times, with just three actors on stage going in circles, two of which play several characters, apart from David Tennant who plays Halder. Add another hour to this and I may have paused it to take a nap or start something else. Not its fault I think, I tend to get sleepy at this time of day during the weekends, I don't know why.Another work on the banality of evil. Very important of course, but not riveting. Goes down rather well after Nuremberg I'd say. Same conclusion, very different treatments.

Reviewed by 1930s_Time_Machine 8 / 10

Ever wondered how normal people became Nazis?

This is a stage play, not a film so having just three actors playing several different characters is a bit confusing to us 'movie people' - but only for the first few minutes. You soon get used to it and then you'll be totally engrossed by this fascinating, enjoyable (yes, enjoyable) piece of entertainment.The title 'GOOD' refers to the fact that David Tennant's character is.... or was..... or is a good person.... the person whom we watch become a Nazi. CP Taylor's play shows the often tiny, inconsequential changes which drip feed into Dr Hadler's normal life. These are sometimes trivial, sometimes surprising, sometimes they're dismissed because they simply can't be correct, sometimes accepted because 'they' must know what they're doing.This feels very personal, it's not a cold historical drama. It doesn't explain why the things happen, it doesn't suggest it was the devastating disappointment of the Weimar Republic - no, it's not a history lesson of the 1930s, it just shows that things like this can happen and seem normal.As stage plays go, this is pretty brilliant an casting David Tennant in this role was an act of genius - everyone likes David Tennant and watching him evolve from nice David to Nazi David is both horrific because it's so believable .

National Theatre Live: Good

2023

Drama / War

National Theatre Live: Good

2023

Drama / War

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Profound story, beatifully eecuted

The banality of evil

Ever wondered how normal people became Nazis?

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