(from the original National Theatre production: seen at the afternoon performance on 17th July 2018). Some actors have now left the production.
This really is rather like the bank itself. Doughty and reliable until the closing minutes, when it really does all fall to pieces. Es Devlin's remarkable cuboid set (with Luke Halls rather distracting video projections) and Sam Mendes inventive yet unobtrusive direction place Simon Russell Beale (Henry Lehman), Ben Miles (Emanuel Lehman) and Adam Godley (Mayer Lehrman) in prime position to tell a tale spanning over a century.
Act 1 sees three brothers coming to America and turning a wool and clothing store into a bank. Act 2 is the establishment and growth in New York. Act 3 the demise. The first act is deeply moving. A nod to Rabbi Epstein for the perfection of the Jewish rituals and pronunciation, and all three actors as they bring vivid life to their characters... and a good few more besides.
Act 2 is a transition as generations descend and take over. Beale is a wonder as Philip, and there are some lovely comedy moments.
Sadly, the third act spoils the rest. While it is possible to overlook a lack of detail about where the capital came from to expand business in act 1; you will need either a good memory, Google or a copy of the programme to find out where it all went wrong. Given that at that point we had invested nearly 3 hours of careful attention, the effect is almost as if writer Stefano Massini and adaptor Ben Power delivered a final script with a few pages missing. Mendes does his best, but we need far more than we get.
Rather like a billion dollar byword for reliability failing with shocking abruptness, so a crash from 5 stars and a standing ovation to 4 stars - with 5 only for acting and script was the monkey's mildly upset opinion.
