The Sydney Theatre Company has been a strong advocate of the work of British playwright David Hare. The Company has presented the Australian premieres of ‘Skylight’, ‘Amy’s View’, ‘The Breath Of Life’, his adaptation of Brecht’s ‘The Life of Galileo’ and in 1982, the world premiere of ‘A Map of the World’ at the Adelaide Festival.

Hare has had his critics over the years who have accused him of being too political and predictable. Hare hit back in an interview on National Public Radio in late 2006, quoted in the play’s program, “People say in that demeaning way, oh, you’re a political playwright. And it makes it sound as if that means that you write about politics all the time. But you don’t. You write with a certain view and that view is that history affects human beings as much as biology. I’ve always written plays in which social and historical forces are blowing through the room and affecting how people feel and think. And this is, if you like, crudely a Shakespearean approach to playwriting, where you’re always trying to show the way social and historical forces affect individuals”.

The Sydney Theatre Company latest Hare ‘venture’ is his new play, ‘The Vertical Hour’. It represents a strong opening to their 2008 season.

With ‘The Vertical Hour’ Hare continues his dialogue about the American invasion of Iraq. A previous play, ‘Stuff Happens’, focused on the behind the scenes decision making that went into the invasion. In ‘The Vertical Hour’, the focus turns into something of an intimate post mortem with American war correspondent turned academic Nadia (Victoria Longley) heatedly discussing Iraq and other contemporary issues with the reclusive, urbane Doctor Oliver (Pip Miller), the father of her current British boyfriend, Philip (Christopher Stollery). There’s no such thing as holding back even though it’s her first meeting with her prospective father in law. Any way, their discussions give Nadia aclarity and renewed sense of purpose.

‘The Vertical Hour’ was inspiring theatre. Hare’s writing was incisive with many great lines. The play’s central conflict was real drawn, with two clearly differentiated main characters; the pro-active, we can do it spirit of Nadia as opposed to the passive and critical attitude of Oliver. Hare sure came up with a great main character… almost in the heroine mode…there was so much passion and integrity in her. Victoria Longley gave a wonderful performance.

Interestingly, the recent Broadway production of the play featured the great American actress Julianne Moore in the role of Nadia, and Bill Nighy as Oliver.