Review – The Soul of Wittgenstein

A lot of dicky birds in this play ,  Some tangled, some funny , a lot full of value . At times I felt like our hospitalized hero, John Smith , confused, but eager to learn and this is what Ben Woodhall did brilliantly, he took us on his journey with him. His teacher, played with refinement , dignity from the very beginning and compassion by Richard Stemp, took us also on that journey of discovery “in a world between two covers”  Bethrand Russel would’ve been proud of this Ludwig Wittgenstein too, as Richard got pretty close to this characterisation “the most perfect example I have ever known of genius as traditionally conceived; passionate, profound, intense, and dominating”.  Is hard not to think of Wittgensein as an early Sheldon Cooper, specially in the beginning when he speaks so fast and so concise, when he passionately explains why reading is so great or when he summarizes War and Peace.
I got goosebumps when Ludwig began to read War and  Peace, the joy on his face , the artistry of that moment almost makes it look like a film.

The second part flows at a slower pace, as these opposed characters get closer, clearly now we know their friedship is unbreakable. Their bond is created by sharing the moments in the hospital, the war , the curfew.  Woodhall’s Smith developing curiosity grows ever thirstier , by the end wanting to read a medical book on his Sarcoma. A long way from the illiterate and ignorant John Smith we met in the beginning . He always posseses that folk wisom that at times seems even beyond Wittgenstein’s and Ben displayed that beautifully. There’s something very comforting in the way John’s is accepting his fate, he doesn’t give in either though, he just understands. Ben Woodhall played that with grace and humour.

Throughout we get a perfect combination of humour and sadness, a fantastic play on words ( see what I did there?), knock out lines and brilliant delivery . This play is one to have in your library , because it has the definition of life, a guide on how to understand , to know what needs to remain unspoken and maybe only shown , as John says, and this is what I love about seeing a play staged like this , wanting to go home and read it, the essence of theatre perhaps?

The play is called The soul of Wittgenstein but I feel we get to know the soul of Dave Spencer, I can almost hear his direction ,calling for love and understanding of these characters.
Though part of the Omnibus Theatre’s LGBTQ + Festival, The Soul of Wiigenstein hardly feels like it’s got anything to do with that, because love is not defined by gender.

I hope you are happy with my review.

Thank you ,

Review by Andreea Helen David.