Review: MAN TO MAN at Royal Court Theatre

Ms Swinton (strikingly attired all in white at the ceremony) was hugely complimentary about the value of informed critical analysis in the arts, noting during her acceptance speech that “…the conversation with my colleagues is everything to me. I am not a solo artist”. Whilst that may be true for any actor involved in a stage production, the reality of MAN TO MAN currently playing at the Royal Court (at least from the audience’s viewpoint), is that Ms Swinton is very much alone on stage for the entire 90 minute running time.

From an historical perspective, Manfred Karge’s 1982 play written for his long term partner Lore Brunner, was based on a true story. The first London production from 1987 (which is revised here), was influential, not only in Ms Swinton’s development, but also in launching the careers of director Stephen Unwin and his sometime design collaborator Bunny Christie.

Placed within a stark, white-walled surround set, Ella Gericke fills-in the gaps in our understanding of her situation following the death of her husband Max from bone cancer during Germany’s 1930s depression. She stands before us wearing a string vest and pair of his red underpants (with bulge enhancement) having long ago assumed his identity — a bold deception driven by the need to take his place working as a crane operator, to avoid destitution.

As the decades pass and Nazis are replaced by Communists and the Cold War ends with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, we are given snap-shots of a life spent almost entirely hiding in plain sight. With breasts strapped down and adopting a rough working class accent, Swinton moves from mic stand to fridge, from tipping beer over herself to throwing paint at the backdrop. It’s art darling, art and proceedings are imbued with a pseudo-Bauhaus feel throughout. One unsentimental vignette slips seamlessly into the next, as effortlessly as a dinner bore moving from one personal life experience to another, with the production assuming an air of unmistakable self-indulgence.

It is of course wonderful to see Tilda Swinton return to a London stage, reprising and updating her 1988 Royal Court appearance in this play which boasts many of the original creative team. The question is, does the end result compare favourably (as a piece of theatrical entertainment) with other star-billed productions currently on offer? Of course it is a matter of taste and die-hard Swinton fans will surely swoon to see her open a jar of pickles (as she does here) but personally, I found myself craving something less reflective and infinitely more powerful and compelling from this profoundly talented artist.

Plays straight through without interval and continues at The Royal Court until 24th October.

Man to Man Tickets

Tilda Swinton (centre, in white) receiving the Critics’ Circle Rose Bowl for Distinguished Service to the Arts at the National Liberal Club, October 2025