Nixon's Nixon

On August 8th, 1974 Richard M. Nixon resigned from the presidency of the US following the Watergate scandal and his impending impeachment. The previous evening, he had summoned Henry Kissinger to the White House, where they conferred for almost three hours. The content of their conversation is not known, but writer Richard Lees has given us a fictitious version in Nixon's Nixon, now at the Tivoli.

The usual disclaimer records that the events in the play are in no way intended to represent the real actions or opinions of the two characters. It hardly needed to be said. This is essentially a comedy of caricatures, a Nixon ranging from the manic to the lugubrious, and a self-serving Kissinger seeking to save his career from the debacle. They are not credible as men of ability, reputation and stature.

The comic intent is manifest as Nixon compels Kissinger to imitate other world leaders, like Brezhnev and Mao, to enable him to relive remembered glories when he met them as equals, and apparently gained their trust. He rails against all those who let him down, and the incompetent Kennedy who acted his way into the White House. From his present bunker, Nixon sees very few big men, and no allies.

Such tension as the play contains resides in Nixon's blinkered reluctance to resign. He still believes that a last stand may save the situation, and prods Kissinger towards the creation of an international incident in which he can be the nation's saviour and redeem everything. He is concerned above all about his place in history (doesn't that sound familiar?), but the fantasy bubble bursts, and it is kaput for Tricky Dicky. Kissinger, of course, survived as secretary of state under Gerald Ford.

Two excellent actors, Tim Donoghue and Keith Jochim, directed by Charles Towers, offer a very entertaining 90 minutes of near-satire cut and thrust. They generate lots of laughs, but enlightenment is not their business here.

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