Power Of Sail review: This ‘Moral thriller’ about a college race rumpus drifts off course, writes PATRICK MARMION

Power Of Sail (Menier Chocolate Factory, London)

Verdict: Polished but baffling

Classification:

Power of Sail is a curious drama about a Harvard professor (Julian Ovenden) who finds himself in hot water after inviting a far-right white nationalist to speak at a campus conference.

“The answer to hate speech is more speech,” he states glibly in Paul Grellong’s David Mamet-style drama, created from the tight noose of tasteless compromise.

The problem is that Grellong’s work goes on to suggest that a legitimate way to defeat white supremacists’ ‘distortion of truth and omission of facts’ may be… distortion of truth and omission of facts.

Grellong also loses the dramatic focus of his would-be thriller by veering into the tertiary connivances and cover-ups of the university dean (Tanya Franks), a Jewish alumna and doctoral student.

Dominic Dromgoole’s engaging production features oak panels that rotate on wheels to create different university locations and changing perspectives.

But amidst the craftsmanship, the fantastic Giles Terera, as a visiting professor, is forced to judge the work’s inconclusive ethical, social, and racial disputes.

Also, I didn’t understand the maritime meaning of the title: that boats with engines should give way to boats with sails. Perhaps it is that old-school power trumps innovation and vested interests prevail. But honestly? I’m just guessing.