JT Rogers’s engrossing and spirited Oslo charts how Rod-Larsen developed a new model for negotiations without the presence of a moderator and, assisted by his wife, persuaded the two bitter enemies to put it into practice.
After a year of top secret meetings, characterised by bluffs and counterbluffs, ploys and posturing, the two sides agreed on a proposal that formed the basis of the Oslo Accord.
Although the final settlement is a matter of historical record, Oslo maintains a razor-sharp tension, thanks both to Rogers’s incisive writing and to the excellence of the entire cast in Bartlett Sher’s masterly production.
Toby Stephens evinces the perfect balance of altruism and smugness as Rod-Larsen, and Lydia Leonard is beautifully assured as Mona.
Peter Polycarpou and Philip Arditti are superb as the two chief antagonists, the one all stoic dignity, the other all feverish exuberance.
Paul Herzberg and Geraldine Alexander achieve notable doubles: he as a frazzled professor and the Israeli foreign minister, Shimon Peres; she as Rod-Larsen’s disgruntled colleague and a housekeeper whose waffles do much to relieve tensions.
OSLO Harold Pinter, London SW1 (Tickets 020 7452 3000 /nationaltheatre.org.uk; £18-87.50)