Theater: Platitudes on Parade

The Unknown Soldier and His Wife. The only evil of war left unmentioned in Peter Ustinov's three-hour verbal artillery barrage at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater is the antiwar play. Despite a sprinkling of quips, Ustinov lays down a lethal set of pacifist platitudes that ultimately calls for an intellectual gas mask.

Bertolt Brecht, on whom Ustinov relies heavily for his inspiration, was content with the Thirty Years' War for Mother Courage. Unknown Soldier gobbles up 2,000 years of battle history, from Roman times to the present. Small wonder that digestive torpor soon sets...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!