The plot covers key milestones in his life, including disruptions to family, resistance to communism, the value of friends and supporters, and the difficulties of staying loyal to your home country during times of totalitarian rule and surveillance.
It’s obviously a passion project for Armitage and director Lorna Ashton, who have worked independently to mount the week-long season.
The action moves quickly from the opening scenes, where young Luboš (Rhys Matthews) and his mother (Liz Sheppard) are heading off for a balloon ride as a birthday treat.
Luboš’ father (Peter Mahon) isn’t flying with them, and we soon learn why.
The action follows Luboš from his childhood, staying with his grandparents (Nicolas Wells and Jane Barnett), and shows both his growing interest in chess and his understanding of politics as he gets older.
Dylan Redfern takes the lead role as adult Kavalek.
His frequent soliloquies progress the plot stages and help reveal Lubomir’s thoughts.
Delivered in a restrained way, they nevertheless feel connected and personal.
The play has 21 characters, which is a very large cast for a relatively short play and necessitates multiple roles for most of the actors.
More distinctions in costuming would help signify the change of roles more clearly, like that of Sheppard successfully changing from Mother to a more modern, 1960s chess player.
The plot is packed with a lot of exposition and activity across four short acts, and it was best when the scenes allowed for a bit of character development, relationships and dialogue.
I enjoyed the energy and focus of Michael Switzer and Redfern in a scene at the railways, which let more character and tension show – the play could have benefited from more of this.
Switzer lifted the scenes he was in, and Nicolas Wells was polished in his different roles.
I also liked the energy of Sheppard and Scarlett Edgar as a TV presenter/girlfriend.
Incidental music is played between and during scenes by on-stage musicians Mike Martin and Glenda Nolan.
This supports the action, but more would really add to the transitions.
The set is simple with multi-purpose chairs and tables, and a chessboard floor.
Projections of images on the cyclorama are well chosen and convey the place effectively.
At a time when the current geopolitical landscape reveals growing ideological division and the world is increasingly surveilled and monitored, the play has some timely themes, but more workshopping would help it reach its potential.
In particular, the dialogue needs to be released from formality in places – a liberal peppering of contractions would make the words flow more naturally between characters and improve pace.
Having said that, the action and key character relationships are clear, notwithstanding a few nerves that affected delivery and flow at times.
It is always good to see original work, and this is an interesting story to bring to the stage.
The Details
Show: A Czech Gambit
Written by: Russell Armitage
Directed by: Lorna Ashton
Dates: until July 4
Venue: The Meteor
Cate Prestidge is a principal academic and co-ordinator of journalism and communication programmes at Wintec. She has been writing theatre reviews for NZME since 2021.