“My Master Builder” at Wyndham’s Theatre – 18/04/25

This is an odd one to review because, for once, I’m getting in early on a play that pretty much no one else has seen yet. I always try to avoid reading reviews before I write mine but with things like “Les Misérables” it’s pretty easy to be influenced by what everyone else has ever said about it. So this is a rare opportunity to write something almost completely unbiased.

Except it’s not unbiased, is it? Cause I love Ewan McGregor and everyone knows it. When Nathan got pouty about me declaring my love for him publicly (Ewan that is, not Nathan) I pointed out that he’s brought it on himself by booking tickets to “Life Less Ordinary” on our very first date back in 1997. Ewan has been part of our relationship from the start and latterly, the kids have grown to love him too, through the Star Wars films and “Moulin Rouge”. So it would have to be a complete car crash of a show for me to say anything remotely negative about the divine Mr McG.

(If you’re getting a sense of deja-vu then yes, you’re right. I did write similar about our visit to see David Tennant’s “Macbeth” in October. I have a bit of a tasty for the scruffy Scottish types, OK? And Nathan can’t complain cause he got to see Sigourney Weaver in return.)

Luckily, this show was not at all a car crash. It’s the second night of previews so I sensed there were some times when the rhythm of the lines still needed to settle down but overall it was a tightly plotted, well-acted and intense piece of theatre. Not a musical, much to Eva’s disappointment, but we coped.

I will say off the bat that it was more adult than I expected and we were the only ones to have brought kids with us. The age recommendation is 12+ and I’ll take this opportunity to re-iterate that this is no longer a toddler-focused blog. There’s a fair bit of swearing, including some C-bombs, and some quite explicit scenes. The content warning says “adult themes” but that might be understating it. Having said that, my kids were fine with it all and it’s probably nothing worse than they hear on YouTube all the time but they are nearly 13 and nearly 16 so if you’re tempted to try it with a kid that’s scraping in under the 12-year-old age then I would urge some caution. It’s definitely more of a secondary school production than anything that primary school kids could handle. However much they love Obi Wan Kenobi.

That over, let’s get to the actual play. As you’d expect for a play about architecture, the set is sleekly built and stylish. The main room set has a brick floor which surely couldn’t have been made with real brick but certainly looked convincing. The “cathedral” set that is on stage before the opening is a “lopsided pyramid” of aggressive modernity. Obviously I don’t have any pictures of the production itself but I can share the pre-show set with you:

And then there’s the cast – an interwoven ensemble of five main characters, with some extras for the party scene. Ewan McGregor was the eponymous Master Builder – Henry Solness – and Kate Fleetwood was his wife Elena Solness. Elizabeth Debicki was Mathilde, David Ajala as Ragnar and Mirren Mack as Kaia. They all had a lot of stage time and a lot of emotional moments so it must be exhausting going through this every night. They were all excellent though.

David Ajala threatened to steal the show several times as the “influencer architect” – Henry’s protégé, who was now starting to outshine him. Although the play was largely dark and intense, Ragnar was a beam of sunshine for most of it, dazzling in a small pair of speedos or his party slacks. He certainly provided some lighter moments to break up the drama and delivered his witty dialogue brilliantly.

His comedy foil for most of these scenes was Elena, who Eva described as “iconic”. She was certainly a flawed character with a twisted take on feminism but she was both sympathetic and chilling…you felt for her but also felt sure you wouldn’t want to cross her. Kate Fleetwood balances all these things as well as looking stunning in every stylish outfit (and she has the most amazing cheekbones). Her despair, taut politeness and raw vulnerability all make for a complex female character, the likes of which we don’t see enough of. She loves Henry but she can’t forgive him and it’s this depth which really gives the play its heart. Yet she also has the deft comedy touch to pull off her scenes with Ragnar that break through some of that tension. Masterful.

Elizabeth Debicki as Mathilde was another complex character. She appears to be very vulnerable at first but it soon emerges that she wields far more power than she lets on. Her relationship with Kaia is complicated by a revelation late on in the play and you’re left with the impression that this is a soul alone in the world with no real idea of what she wants. It would be easy to make Mathilde a bland kind of “Mia from Love Actually” temptress but in Debicki’s hands, she is sympathetic while also being very flawed.

While we mention Kaia, JUSTICE FOR KAIA. She’s the only character in this play who did nothing wrong but she seems to get dumped on from all sides and is the undeserved target of Elena’s wrath, which really should have been pointed towards her husband. Mirren Mack plays Kaia with a youthful innocence which turns to weariness as she realises that these “grown ups” she’s been looking to as role models have royally messed their own lives up. She’s the most clearcut of the characters yet the one who gets treated the worst. I say again, JUSTICE FOR KAIA.

(And potentially a new job….I’m not sure she has a future working for Elena after all of this tbh)

All of which brings us to the central performance by Ewan McGregor. I wanted to dislike his character and thought from the synopsis that I would but it’s so very hard to dislike a character played by Ewan McGregor. He makes a multitude of bad decisions, both during the play, and in his backstory but he’s still so sympathetic and you kinda want things to work out for him, even as it becomes very clear that they will not. He plays the role with his natural Scottish accent, which definitely helps the character to feel more likeable – I imagined he would do an American accent for the role but I’m so glad he didn’t. His interactions with Mathilde are genuinely tender and even though you know it’s a problematic power dynamic, you still almost root for them as a couple. But then you see what he has with Elena and feel like you should root for them instead. At times, he reminded me of his “Moulin Rouge” character – choking back tears as he tries to figure out the nature of love – but this is a more mature character than Christian ever got to be and with maturity comes baggage. To mix my metaphors slightly, he wears his heart on his sleeve but it’s weighed down by all that emotional baggage. It’s another complex performance and it blends so well with the others.

Just a quick word on the visuals – the sets, as I mentioned earlier, as impressively detailed and I loved the seascape in the background. The costumes are gorgeous, especially the dresses in the second half, and there are some great visual effects when the fireworks are going off. For a play about rich people, there really is a feeling of understated wealth in the set dressing. At one point, a glass is thrown and the sound it makes is quite obviously not that of glass breaking but I guess that’s done for health and safety issues. Health and safety gets heavily promoted as a concern in the play (exposed wiring in a wooden building, anyone?) so no wonder the production team are hot on it.

So visually pleasing, great performances and a twisty plot that keeps you on edge. What’s not to like? It’s a thought-provoking piece, heavy in places and comedic in others, but well worth watching. The runtime is 2 hours 20 mins including an interval but it went by really quickly. We did, of course, get the usual interval ice cream and we’re developing quite a connoisseur’s knowledge of the Delfont Mackintosh ice cream range, which includes at least two dairy free options. It was warm in there (not quite as warm as “The Tempest” but almost) so I would highly recommend getting a cup of water from the dispenser at the bar before it starts.

I would also recommend trying for the stage door. Reuben was at the end of the row and very close to exit so he shot off the minute the curtain call was done (and we have told the kids never to go before the bows as that’s poor etiquette). He got a prime spot on the barrier and was rewarded by signatures from Kate Fleetwood, Elizabeth Debicki and Obi Wan himself. Honestly, I’ve never seen this boy happier:

All three were super nice – we were warned that they would only sign play merchandise, which is fair enough, and would not be posing for selfies. Roo got to exchange a few words with Ewan and it made him even happier than it made me. Of course, Kate Fleetwood and Elizabeth Debicki have their own geek credentials as they’ve appeared in the “Harry Potter” ‘verse and the MCU respectively. This wasn’t lost on Roo. In fact, he watched “Guardians of the Galaxy 2” a few days ago in preparation for potentially meeting the golden-faced star. When she came out to the crowd of people though, she gave a startled look which looked less Ayesha and more like her Princess Di character from “The Crown”

And Eva was so pleased that she got to tell Kate Fleetwood how brilliant she’d been:

Happy, happy stagey kids.

We didn’t dress on theme for this one (tho Nathan had Darth Maul socks on) but I was quite pleased I’d worn my Bowie t-shirt as there’s a Bowie reference and a snippet of music right at the start of the show:

I realise I haven’t said too much about the plot and the dialogue or any of the technical bits apart from the performances but that’s because I’m aware it’s brand new and I don’t do spoilers. It’s OK to tell you that Éponine dies but I wouldn’t be OK with the same level of detail about something that only a handful of people have seen so far. I will say though, if intense family drama is your thing, then you should give this a try. And if you’re just a Ewan McGregor fangirl, then you should also give this a try. Tho to answer a question raised in a Facebook post – no, he does not get his kit off.

But don’t let that put you off. Click here for tickets and more info.

No disclaimer needed as I paid for this one but all opinions remain honest and my own.