The second scene, with characters vaguely flirting, moaning about the organisation, the working conditions, the corruption and casually mentioning the elephant in the room - that the hats were for people condemned to death - was certainly a coup de theatre, and I have nothing but praise for the acting. The self-absorption of Mr & Miss Average in their own petty concerns while the world falls apart round them was only too believable. But the shift into the surreal didn't work for me, I remained utterly earth-bound wondering why any government would bother to employ a whole lot of hat-makers; and while the walk- on actors might have been intrigued by the challenge to make themselves into real characters, it's not really possible in a procession where the only thing they have any chance of conveying is that they are victims. Now, Romeo and Juliet or Julius Caesar crowd parts, that would be different.

After that I felt it was downhill all the way, and I have to honestly confess that, while I definitely did not fall asleep, I might as well have done, as I cannot remember a single thing about anything after the procession; a disappointment after such a riveting start. One reviewer of the original production thought the drama's doom-and-gloom rather glib and modish, and that the characters were insufficiently developed in such a short time to make us care anything about them as characters. That's very severe, but I fear it is true in spite of heroic efforts in acting and direction, (and a very snazzy bit of set design). My husband hated it.

I wonder if Scene 1 could have a future on its own, perhaps as a little piece which could be toured on Holocaust Day. The hats looked super, and I think Questors should display them in the lobby so that we could get a better look at them.