The Stone - **** TNT

Friday 20 February 2009 11:37 GMT

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The Stone

This article was first published on tntonline.co.uk on Friday 20 February 2009 11:37 GMT.

The history of a Dresden house serves as a microcosm for the major events which took place in his native Germany from 1935 to 1993 in Marius von Mayenburg‘s clever, hour long drama. As the occupancy changes along with the prevailing political situation, the cast of six remains on stage throughout, enabling random, lightning-fast switches to and fro between different periods to expose the lies and self-delusions which have been perpetuated – and accepted as fact – over three generations.

Originally the property of the Jewish family whom (according to his wife Witha’s whitewashed version of the murky past) he helped escape to America, Wolfgang’s house – purchased from them at a premium – is later temporarily occupied by Stefanie when his own family flee to the West, then reclaimed by them when Witha returns with her now grownup daughter and granddaughter.

The ghosts of the past hover on the sidelines, ready to reveal the truth of Wolfgang’s unacknowledged Nazi sympathies, and von Mayenburg’s clever, teasing device (played out in the unrelenting glare of a simple box set) keeps the audience on its toes as the tangled strands of Ramin Gray’s meticulously acted production unwind.

Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1 (020 7565 5000) to 28 February ( £10-£25)