Directed by Lina Majdalanie & Rabih Mroué
Written by Lina Majdalanie, Rabih Mroué & Bertolt Brecht
Review by Dominic Corr
There is an indisputable intellectual weight to Four Walls and a Roof, a lecture-performance that approaches the burning questions of modern exile and political censorship through a fascinating historical lens. Created and performed by Lebanese émigrés Lina Majdalanie and Rabih Mroué, this Studio Theatre offering uses Bertolt Brecht’s mid-century displacemennt – specifically his flight from Nazi Germany and his subsequent interrogation by the House Un-American Activities Committee – as a springboard to interrogate the contemporary rise of the far right and the silencing of dissident voices. It is a vital, engrossing piece of work. But one which struggles to have its voice echo effectively.
At its core, the piece is undeniably informative and deeply considered. Majdalanie and Mroué operate with a sharp, analytical intellect, drawing sophisticated parallels between Brecht’s concept of “cold execution” – the systematic destruction of an artist’s livelihood – and the subtle, modern forms of institutional exclusion happening across Europe today. When the production allows its dry, satirical humour to take centre stage, it hits with genuine theatrical force. An opening stretch takes time to find its groove, but gradually elongated periods of complete silence, wherein the performers refuse to speak for fear of alienating a divided room, deliver a wonderfully droll, razor-sharp commentary on modern self-censorship.
Where the production stumbles significantly, however, is in its execution. In being so doggedly faithful to Brecht’s theories of distance and emotional detachment, the staging frequently lapses into a dry, academic conference atmosphere that lacks dramatic vitality. The delivery, while purposefully casual and un-actorly, often feels overly rigid, reading directly from scripts in a manner that slows the momentum to a crawl. The inclusion of musical interludes – featuring pianist Henrik Kairies performing compositions by Brecht and Hanns Eisler – offers welcome texture, but these moments are not quite enough to rescue the central stretch from feeling enervating and flat.
The show is at its absolute finest when it strays from dense archival analysis and allows Majdalanie and Mroué to speak directly from their own lived experiences as émigrés, bridging historical research with personal vulnerability. As a piece of political research and intellectual warning, Four Walls and a Roof is unquestionably vital and timely. Yet, as an engaging piece of live theatre, its overly clinical presentation prevents its urgent message from striking with the visceral force it so rightly deserves.
Vital and Timely
Four Walls and a Roof runs The Studio Theatre until August 17th
Running time – One hour and forty minutes without interval
Photo credit – Christophe Berlet and Sybille Cornet
Review by Dominic Corr (contact@corrblimey.uk)
Editor of Corr Blimey, and a freelance critic for Scottish publications, Dominic has been writing freelance for several established and respected publications such as BBC Radio Scotland, The List, The Scotsman, Edinburgh Festival Magazine, The Reviews Hub, In Their Own League, The Wee Review and Edinburgh Guide. As of 2023, he is a member of the Critic’s Award for Theatre Scotland (CATS) and a member of the UK Film Critics.
