Review: Eva at Leeds Playhouse

Friday, 19th April 2024 at Leeds Playhouse

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nicki Davy writes and stars in this very personal show – Eva – inspired by a box of items her mother found in the attic of Granny Ilse – Eva’s sister. This box proved a treasure trove and prompted historical research into the life of Eva Metzger and eventually led to this play – the story of a young girl thrust from Germany to England in wartime, pouring her thoughts and experiences into her poetry.

And Eva’s life was extraordinary by all accounts: escaping Nazi Germany as a child to a warm and welcoming school; unable to find suitable secretarial work afterwards because of her potential “enemy alien” status as a German in wartime Britain, but nevertheless volunteering with the Auxiliary Territorial Service to help the war effort against the monster destroying her homeland. A young German Jew contributing to the British war effort seems noble territory, and Eva proved her mettle by later undertaking horrific secretarial work transcribing documented atrocities for the War Crimes Commission. No wonder Eva kept her expressive pen in hand during such trying times.

How to do justice to such a life in 70 minutes of theatre? Through a clever blend of naturalism and theatrical embellishment, under the dynamic direction of Leanne Rowley it turns out. We see young Eva bickering with family before she deals with invisible strangers upon arriving in England. Main action is interrupted playfully with satirical commentary as Eva navigates a strange new culture. We have departures from the action to join Eva in moments of reflection as Davy beautifully recites poetry.

Nicki Davy takes us on the journey of Eva’s eventful life with gentle gravity. The younger years are characterised by classic traits of irritable teendom, and later years see a more stoic, serious Eva surface. It’s in the poetry that Davy’s depiction finds its greatest power; while uncertainty surrounds her, Eva finds meaning in her writing and this production certainly does justice to both her writing talent and her resilient humanity. Kathleen Yore and Luke Dickson provide a range of peripheral characters, gifting the production with some excellent voice work and a brilliant layer of theatrical polish – particularly with those very British commentaries.

It’s a real win for the production, this approach – having the two step up to 1920’s style mics and offer advice to all “unnatural aliens”, in plummy PSA voices of yesteryear, on how to integrate into British society. Both delivery and Davy’s writing are excellent as the pair interrupt Eva’s exchanges with their advice: smiling broadly to get anything done, embracing the art of queuing, and the importance of infinite tea breaks all get their mentions – and the rolling r’s provide great humour, beautifully providing respite from the sobering nature of Eva’s experiences.

Emma Williams’ set is also brilliant, offering unstable levels with a linoleum pattern aptly bringing to mind a chequerboard. A couple of off-kilter walls with markers of domestic normality protrude from the floor, as if pushed outwards by an explosion, despite holding no sign of bomb scars.

This is a clever production which delivers a deft balancing act; delicately offering comic relief while also doing justice to the story of an extraordinary forgotten hero who lived through dark times – and the work she crafted along the way.

Eva has completed its run at Leeds Playhouse, but you can read more about Eva Metzger’s extraordinary life – and her poetry, here.