By Joy Watters

THE LIGHTS go up on the stage to reveal a rubble-clad post-war Berlin, the vision of destruction perfectly presaging what is to unfold.

Taking Sides asks an audience to make up its mind about the role of Wilhelm Furtwangler, the renowned conductor of the Berlin Philarmonic Orchestra.

Based on fact, the work asks why Furtwangler remained in Germany during the Third Reich, whether he was a member of the Nazi party or a man so devoted to his art that he simply went with the flow of the tyrannical regime.

It is a dense and thought-provoking piece of writing that addresses the role of an artist in an oppressive society and the particular circumstances of the famous conductor during a vicious interrogation by an American major, given the task of investigating Furtwangler by his superiors and who relishes the prospect of finding him guilty.

Major Steve Arnold was a former insurance investigator and is determined to nail Furtwangler, who he dubs “Hitler’s bandleader.’’

The two men clash head-on as the representative of the new world trying to shred the old world’s reverence for culture.

Arnold (Alan Steele) is boorish and full of vitriol, pursuing his prey with delight. Furtwangler (Martyn James) is a man used to being revered who re- iterates his belief in the power of music and how politics do not enter into it.

This theatrical examination of the facts does tend towards the didactic at times but Alan Steele’s vigour in creating the interrogator, intent on bringing Furtwangler to his knees militates against the audience feeling it is a constant lecture.

His venom-laden questions and comments are almost breath-taking, as he smirks at his own cleverness, building up to the final climax.

Martyn James conveys the presence and arrogance of the maestro although he is less successful in conveying his agony when discussing the war years.

The conductor is supported by a young American-Jewish soldier who is assisting at the interrogation. He is Lieutenant David Wills (a gentle yet persuasive performance by Grant O’Rourke), whose parents fled Germany for the States.

The actions of the conductor are set against a range of motives and the audience is set thinking.

Does the loathsome interrogator have any justification in his views? Was Furtwangler carefully enjoying the spoils of being the regime’s favourite, rather than walking an agonising tightrope.

Richard Baron’s intelligent production of this challenging piece meticulously sets out the arguments.