But this is 1932 and things are about to change. Maurice’s ambivalence about his Jewish heritage is brutally clarified for him by the Regime. But that same Regime can exploit John’s reputation, communication skills, and fiction writer’s empathy to transform the land of Goethe into a totalitarian state. Taylor shows how John’s vanity, self-deception and intellectual arrogance take him to a place where he will know exactly who he is, who his comrades are, what he is doing, and who he is doing it to. John may have has lost his children, wife and mother, but he has acquired respect, comrades, and the operations research skills relevant to mass transportation. The Chopin singing in his head may have been replaced by marching bands. But he now owns Maurice’s beloved cottage by the lake.

Good is a demanding play for both actors and audience. The cast of three are on stage for the entire action. David Tennant is the constant presence of John Halder, while Sharon Small and Elliot Levey are everyone else. Ten roles in all, each individually characterised at the flick of a switch. Levey is a solid versatile reassuring presence in the variety of parts he takes. Sharon Small faces up to the harder task of distinguishing the three different, but identically dressed, women who each in their own way influence John’s fate.