Beat the Devil

Ralph Fiennes, who shines in this solo performance, will be thought by many to have it easy: all he has to do is show his talent. But they ignore that few actors can do that. For an hour he talks and moves in an enclosed space, and we just listen and watch, not wanting to leave him, but wanting to stay with him... An old man's testimony about Covid, by the way. It's honest, interesting and his observations are still relevant today. Yes, there are many political implications. I imagined Akos Koszegi describing similar experiences in Hungary. (Boris Johnson is a schoolboy compared to Viktor Orbán. And Trump is an aggressive circus trainer.) But there are also psychological issues relating to illness, such as the question of recovery as a personal skill (character!), or the guilt of survival (here: rage).

I wouldn't call it a work of a genius, but it is a very intimate monologue with the vivid authenticity of an inspired actor.