'Chimerica' Harold Pinter Theatre *****

The Almeida Theatre's West End transfer of 'Chimerica' and now officially closed was a really splendid production to have witnessed. The play is set in both America and China and deals with a young American photojournalist Joe on his quest to search for the man who made history by standing infront of an army tank in Tiananmen Square, 1989 and refusing to move. Joe asks himself three vital questions whilst on his journey. Who was he? What happened to him? And could he still be alive? The writyer of this magnificent piece of theatre writing Lucy Kirkwood has captured the themes of China's fight to end its communist movement so tenderly that it did not appear offensive to me whatsoever. The performances by the company were brilliantly represented and delved into its controversial context so delicately. Joe Schofield played by Stephen Campbell Moore conveys the photojournalist on his quest for the infamous man suggests that he is in fact searching for his own sense of fame and by finding him could solve the answer to all of his problems. The portrayal pf Zhang Linwho is portrayed by the splendid Benedict Wong was extraodinary as he enables us to understand the mans desire to denounce communism and for China to move forward as a land of fair democracy.  The meotional engagements form both the two lead performers ensures the comparisson  between the two countires and how they both connect through a kind of friendship. The direction by Lyndsay Turner was fabulous as she has eleoquently worked with a script with quite heavy themes and produces a production that makes us think about how we should collaborate to ensure equality for all. The set designer Es Devlin has beautifully crafted a set that depicts the heartfelt and most importantly the shocking nature of the piece and seting it fully on the stage revolve was an interesting choice but in my opinion it does all to the fluidity of the entre performance.  To those who could not book tickets for this outstanding piece of theatre making should be slightly upset as this was a show to be seen this summer/autumn.