The last couple of things I've seen at the NT's Cottesloe Theatre have been a bit of a disappointment: Black Album and Dido, Queen of Carthage.
Our Class was theatre-buddy Debbie's choice and if she could apply the same judgement to picking horses she'd be very rich.
It's the first time I've seen the Cottesloe use the flexible seating arrangement it boasts and the stage was in the middle: A bare-boards pit with 10 chairs. The only other decoration was a pile of ash for the second half.
The opening scene is set in a classroom with the 10 each introducing themselves and saying what they want to be when they grow up - the playfulness, innocence and friendship you know is going to be slowly destroyed by horrific anti-semitism, politics and fear.
All actors remained on stage sitting on the edge of pit when not part of the action. There was a mix of re-enactment, first person narrative mixed with children's songs and live music stirred in.
It examines the tragedy of Jedwabne through the eyes of those 10 who lived (and died)
It's a thought provoking and harrowing piece of drama and a great bit of theatre, simply but effectively done.
And here are some others thoughts
Guardian What the play also proves, with unsensational dignity, is that, as one of the characters says, "you can never bury the truth"
Daily Telegraph It is hard to praise the 10-strong cast too highly as they bring the complex
stories of 10 characters, some of them through many decades, to vivid life
PS I can tick yet another Harry Potter actor off the theatre list - Stan Shunpike the bus conductor in Prisoner of Azkaban AKA Lee Ingleby. Shame Michael Gambon has had to pull out of the Art of Class but I get Richard Griffiths instead, although it will be the third time I've seen him tread the boards.