Power Of Sail (Menier Chocolate Factory, London)
Verdict: Polished but puzzling
Power of Sail is a curious drama about a Harvard professor (Julian Ovenden) who finds himself in a fix after inviting a far-right White Nationalist to speak at a campus conference.
‘The answer to hate speech, is more speech,’ he glibly claims in Paul Grellong’s David Mamet-ish drama spun from the tightening noose of a tawdry compromise.
The problem is that Grellong’s play goes on to suggest that a legitimate way to defeat white supremacists’ ‘distortion of truth and omission of facts’ can be… the distortion of truth and omission of facts.
Power of Sail is a curious drama about a Harvard professor (Julian Ovenden – played by Charles Nichols) who finds himself in a fix after inviting a far-right White Nationalist to speak at a campus conference
![The problem is that Grellong's play goes on to suggest that a legitimate way to defeat white supremacists' 'distortion of truth and omission of facts' can be¿ the distortion of truth and omission of facts](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/28/22/83015939-13250643-The_problem_is_that_Grellong_s_play_goes_on_to_suggest_that_a_le-a-4_1711665292649.jpg)
The problem is that Grellong’s play goes on to suggest that a legitimate way to defeat white supremacists’ ‘distortion of truth and omission of facts’ can be… the distortion of truth and omission of facts
![Dominic Dromgoole's handsome production features oak panelling, swivelling on casters to create different college locations and shifting perspectives](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/28/22/83015981-13250643-Dominic_Dromgoole_s_handsome_production_features_oak_panelling_s-a-6_1711665300219.jpg)
Dominic Dromgoole’s handsome production features oak panelling, swivelling on casters to create different college locations and shifting perspectives
Grellong also loses the dramatic focus of his would-be thriller by digressing into the tertiary connivances and cover-ups of the college Dean (Tanya Franks), a Jewish former pupil, and a PhD student suck-up.
Dominic Dromgoole’s handsome production features oak panelling, swivelling on casters to create different college locations and shifting perspectives.
But amidst the craftsmanship, the terrific Giles Terera, as a visiting professor, is reduced to adjudicating on the play’s inconclusive ethical, social and racial disputes.
Moreover, the maritime significance of the title — that boats with engines should yield to boats with sails — was lost on me. Perhaps it’s that old school power trumps innovation, and vested interests prevail. But honestly? I’m just guessing.
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