Review: Chess drama A Czech Gambit needed fewer pieces, more subterfuge

Monday, 29 June 2026

Dylan Redfern as Czechoslovakian born chess grandmaster Lubomir Kavalek.

A Czech Gambit, The Meteor Theatre, 27 June - 4 July

It was an immense pleasure to see Hamilton theatre veterans Nicolas Wells and Michael Switzer treading the boards again at The Meteor on Saturday night, cast in multiple parts in a new play by Russell Armitage, A Czech Gambit. The three men collaborated nine years ago at the same venue in One Hill of a Fight, a critical and popular triumph written and directed by Switzer, produced by Armitage and starring Wells as the long serving, abstemious Mayor J.R. Fow.

The strength of that play, for my money Hamilton's finest ever, was that it brought the city's - or then borough's - history to life in a compelling, frequently gripping manner, whilst never sacrificing universal appeal. It had pace, humour and rich characterisations. Switzer's command of dialogue was just superb and the production equally blessed with an outstanding cast, Wells foremost among them.

In the foreground are Dylan Redfern as Lubomir Kavalek and Ann Mahon as Mystery Woman, Zingler. In the background, in focus, is Russell Armitage as an attendant at the Split tournament.

Dylan Redfern as Lubomir Kavalek and playwright Russell Armitage as an Austrian border guard.

Michael Switzer as University Professor.

From left is Nicolas Wells as grandfather, Rhys Mathews as young Lubomir, and Jane Barnett as grandmother.

A Czech Gambit's ambition is broader still but its achievements are compromised in comparison. Armitage seeks to tell the tale of the Czechoslovakian born chess grandmaster Lubomir Kavalek, from his post-war childhood in the late 1940s until his decision to leave his native country as the Soviets and their East European lackeys bring the Prague Spring to an end.

One cannot fault the intention. At a time of extremism from both ends of the political spectrum, with challenges to freedom of expression a daily occurrence even in nominal democracies and idiots of all stripes nostalgic for totalitarian excess, the world could do with a play that reminds us of the evils of the Soviet Bloc. A Czech Gambit certainly achieves this, with dialogue strong on exposition in which the message is never less than clear. One of Wells' characters is a chess official keener on advancing party interests than the sporting spirit, ordering Kavalek to throw matches, spelling out the requirements in a matter of fact manner. Wells' performance transcends the limitations of the lines but I just wish the part had more of the nuances of J.R. Fow. The exchange could have been a subtle interaction, a study in power and its abuses, rather than just a bold statement.

Divided into four short acts, sequentially presenting events in its protagonist's life, broken by brief interludes in which Kavalek addresses the audience, A Czech Gambit threatens to be over plotted, whatever its modest overall length. Less incident and fewer characters may well have worked better, particularly if Armitage had had the desire to develop longer scenes or build tension or subtext. Figures who announce themselves and their agenda as soon as they appear, say their piece, then exit have little opportunity to engage an audience in drama. Even Kavalek's stepmother, hitherto a stranger, blurts out the fact that she's been sleeping with his father with little prelude or foreshadowing.

Dylan Redfern is solid as Kavalek, communicating a real sense of alienation and Rhys Mathews gives a spirited reading of the man's younger self, clear in his diction and with a keen appreciation of character and scene. Liz Sheppard achieves a measure of poignancy as Kavalek's mother, Jane Barnett is a warm stage presence as ever as the grandmother and Scarlett Edgar impresses in two separate parts, the latter Kavalek's girlfriend, though, again, it is unfortunate that the opportunity wasn't taken to dramatise this relationship further. The play is advantaged in every moment that Switzer and Wells are on stage, its strongest scene an interaction between Switzer's railway worker and Kavalek. In this episode, which is given space to breathe, you do get a sense of the era and culture being depicted: the casual incompetence of a Communist regime and its propaganda machine.

With his first hand experience of Czechoslovakia, including time spent in the country during the Prague Spring, Russell Armitage's cameo appearance in his own material has a stamp of authority about it. The real Kavalek achieved his freedom by bribing border guards with cases of vodka, an incident with boundless comic possibilities but the playwright opts for a different tone to end on and has the acting chops to pull it off.

A set design whose foreground is given over to an oversized chess board is an excellent idea for a play about a master of the game. For me at least what was required in the text itself was more manipulation of pieces, more bluffing and subterfuge, in short, more of an actual gambit. Instead, Kavalek checkmates the Communists all too easily.

A Czech Gambit is playing at The Meteor Theatre in Hamilton until July 4. Tickets available through the theatre website.