Was one of the most notorious men to have lived a monster of a man or a very human man made a monster through circumstances? That is the question behind a searching new play which opened last week.

Shadows on the Sun is Barrie Keeffe's first stage play for 10 years. The play is set in the sizzling hot summer of 1794 and looks at Robespierre, leader of the French Revolution who dreamed of a fair, equitable France. A dream that goes horribly wrong.

Keefe manages to draw Robespierre as a deeply-principled, flawed, sometimes-ruthless but touchingly humane man, floundering and taking ever more desperate measures. And so his dream escalated into a seemingly relentless bloodletting. Paris bubbled with guillotined heads until his joined the others.

Shadows on the Sun is history made riveting vivid and graphic but with a light touch, depth, empathy and, remarkably, a very generous dash of comedy.

Keeffe's dialogue is astounding alive, well grounded with the nuances appropriate to the period but still shockingly contemporary. There is some language that may offend a few but it is entirely appropriate to the plot.

The young, energetic cast fill the characters comfortably in this fast-paced, production that is extremely informative but always deeply emotional. Nicholas Deal, who plays Robespierre, actually practised as a barrister for seven years before becoming an actor, which must have given him an insight into the demons the steely provincial lawyer must have battled with. For example the decision to kill his lifelong friend for the good of the revolution.

Shadows on the Sun fulfils a difficult task really well it helps you look behind the horrors to discover the helpless, often flawed, people that create them. It is an exercise that proves useful again and again throughout history and perhaps especially so since the events in America on September 11.

To October 28, Shadows on the

Sun, by Barrie Keeffe, Greenwich Playhouse, Greenwich Station Forecourt, Greenwich High Road, Tuesday-Saturday 7.45pm, Sunday 4pm, £10/£7 020 8858 9256.

JOAN GARDNER

October 9, 2001 10:59