War of words and morals

And a play coming to the Festival Theatre, Malvern, next week looks at how our perceptions of what is true - and what is important - can lead two people to very different moral stances.

Taking Sides is the story of William Furtwngler, one of the greatest orchestral conductors of his generation.

But his reputation was forever scarred by the fact that he worked within Nazi Germany and was thought to have colluded with the facist regime. The play follows the post-war interrogation of Furtwngler, played by Julian Glover, by American Major Steve Arnold, played by Neil Pearson.

Glover said: "The story is so clear in the play that while it is an advantage to know who Hitler and Goering were, even people who have very little knowledge of the period can easily pick it up.

"The play is an argument about who is finally responsible for what, and it's very interesting. I've had two letters just today from people who've seen it saying they got drawn into the argument themselves. The argument within the play still actually rages in Germany because it isn't just about these two people, it's about totalitarianism.

"It's also a very funny play. The American officer is quite basic and Furtwngler is a classically-educated man and artistic so they are two people who are both bigoted in their own ways.

"Neil's character, the American, saw the liberation of the concentration camp at Belsen and will never ever forget it, and Furtwngler was aware that there was a war going on but for him it was a blip and he thought Germany would go back to the way in was in 1932 under the Weimar Republic.

"He stayed to keep the musical heritage of his country intact. He helped an awful lot of Jews out of the country.

"The interrogation of Furtwngler did happen, though there are very few records of it. He never really recovered."

Taking Sides is at the Festival Theatre, Malvern, from Monday to Saturday. Tickets range from £8 to £20 from the box office on 01684 892277.