Still unfinished when he died in 1956, Brecht's last play has, apparently, never been performed in this country before. Though intermittently entertaining, it's not one of his best.
It begins in pantomime fashion with Gerard Murphy's rotund Emperor of China (petulant as an outsize baby in silk undies) threatening, as he does at regular intervals, to abdicate. But there's a dark side to his corrupt rule. Having secretly removed a sizeable proportion of the cotton crop, he and his court find themselves unable to explain to the people why, in a bumper year, prices are so high. Turning to the intellectuals to come up with a solution, the Emperor offers his daughter Turandot (an empty-headed little cutie who goes weak at the knees at the merest suggestion of a brain) as the prize. Failure means decapitation.
Brecht mocks these professional thinkers who sell their opinions in the market place, as well as satirising those in power. But despite the efforts of translator Edward Kemp and director Anthony Clark, it's often an unfocussed and uninvolving event which is unlikely to leave a lasting impression.
Hampstead, Eton Avenue, NW3 (020-7722 9301). Until October 4. £25-£15 (£10 for under 26s).
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