Bryan Cranston and Marianne Jean-Baptiste deliver near pitch perfect performances as Joe and Kate Keller, a husband and wife shutting out unbearable wartime truths, in Ivo van Hove’s searing, morally forceful revival of Arthur Miller’s 1946 play. This is an ensemble piece in which the Breaking Bad star and the sometime muse to Mike Leigh are matched by Paapa Essiedu as their righteous son Chris and Hayley Squires as Ann Deever, the girl he wants to marry.
Expressionistically designed by Jan Versweyveld, it runs 130 minutes without an interval, and in that time gathers a relentless, implacable momentum and profound emotional clout. With costumes that include Adidas trainers and a hoodie as well as more generic garb, it somehow both adheres to its period setting and transcends it. Despite a stumble on the late preview to which critics were invited, it’s an astonishing, deeply moving piece of theatre.
