National Theatre Live: The Lehman Trilogy

Sam Mendes has told the history of corporate capitalism and its evolution in 150 years with 3 actors narrating the story for 3 hours accompanied by one of the best scores i have ever heard.

The Lehman Brothers is full of symbols, for example boxes that represent corporate bureaucracy, nightmares representing historical events such as the hell in the sky representing the faith of indian americans when the railways were being built.

There is a lot of technicalities especially in the third act that takes you to the depths of how the system works. Sam Mendes has understood Marx's criticism of capitalism very well and has told this story in a fashion that anyone can understand.

Beyond the symbols, technicalities and historical events is a simple narration of how capitalism constantly changes, re-invents itself and grows more powerful.

The Godfather explains this theory between the lines of a gangster story, Sam Mendes has told his version between the lines of The Lehman Brothers.

Technically, the stage design is the best i have ever seen, the direction & the music is amazing...The acting is beyond words, the dialogues are tight and there is not a single extra word or second in this story. There is no action yet everything is so tense.

The Lehman Brothers by Sam Mendes is one of the finest pieces of story telling to ever go on the screen or stage...