Broken Glass by playwright Arthur Miller was written in 1994. The play‘s title was on Kristallnacht, which is also known as the Night of Broken Glass.
The play was set in Brooklyn in 1938. It follows the story of Sylvia Gellburg (Pearl Chanda), a Jewish housewife, who suddenly finds that she’s paralysed and unable to walk. Her husband, Philip Gellburg (Eli Gelb), is confused and frustrated about his wife’s condition and not particularly sympathetic to her frustrations.
Sylvia is absorbed with the uprising in Germany of Hitler and isn’t able to look away from the attacks that are taking place in Europe against the Jewish community. Nobody else appears to take her concerns seriously and tell her it will pass.
The couple asks Doctor Harry Hyman (Alex Waldmann) to try and help Sylvia walk again. Hyman spends hours with Sylvia, talking and attempting to understand what has happened to cause her condition. He decides after time that her condition is psychological caused by the trauma of events taking place in Europe.
I did struggle to suspend my disbelief that Sylvia and Philip had been married in a “sexless” marriage for twenty years as the two actors had been cast wrong and don’t look old enough. Although they both give strong and powerful performances in the roles of Sylvia and Philip.
Although I found some of the play muddled in places and couldn’t always follow what is happening, especially when Philip is sacked. Although the production is two hours long with no interval, it passed by fast, and I found myself being drawn in by the characters and the storyline. A special mention has to go to the two goldfish on the stage, adding in a touch of domesticity to the set.
For more information about Broken Glass and future productions at The Young Vic, please use the link below.
Three and a half Stars.
Photo credit Tristram Kenton.
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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