The Pianist review – Władysław Szpilman’s Holocaust memoir retold with his own music

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According to Arifa Akbar writing in The Guardian, turning the survival story of Polish pianist Władysław Szpilman into a musical might initially seem risky given the stark subject matter of the Holocaust and Roman Polanski's acclaimed film. However, adaptor and director Thom Southerland has created an atmospheric and affecting chamber piece at London's Park Theatre. Daniel Krikler portrays Szpilman with Malcolm Forbes-Peckham (the show's musical director) playing his wartime self at the piano, portraying an out-of-body experience. The cast features accomplished musicians portraying Szpilman's exceptionally musical family. While the pace slackens somewhat in the second half when Szpilman is in hiding, the production successfully depicts the slide into totalitarianism, survivor's guilt, and the power of Szpilman's own compositions, culminating in a moving finale where Krikler plays Out of the Darkness.