The Man in the Attic

Timothy Daly unearthed this intriguing, true story of a German couple who kept a Jewish man hidden in their attic for two years beyond the end of the War, living off his resourceful work as a jeweller and watch repairer.  Hitler, thought The Jew, had won the war.

The Man in the Attic won Daly the prestigious Patrick White Playwrights’ Award but in the decade since – despite five productions overseas – has never been performed in Australia. Until now.

Hugh O’Connor sets this promising story in an evocative set of broken bricks and war debris. 

Barry French is The Jew stranded above in the attic, relentlessly optimistic, with his telescope pushed out to the stars, and a back-story left largely abstract.  Danielle King as The Wife downstairs has more earthly concerns. She’s torn by her morality, yes, but also the bullying Husband (Gus Murray), a borderline Nazi keen to keep the Jew resourcing his lucrative trading. 

Next door, The Neighbour (Colleen Cook) is a nasty busy-body who blackmails The Husband over the secret; but the subsequent sexual conspiracy between them does not convince.  Nor, disappointingly, does the play’s climax, between the Wife and Jew – he finally leaves his prison with merely a shrug.

Tim Daly is a fine, intellectually enquiring writer but in this production from Moira Blumenthal his potentially powerful themes are eroded by often declamatory dialogue and an inexplicable lack of suspense.  Even then, this fantastic moral tale almost wins out.  

Martin Portus

Images: Blumenthal Photography