Alex Waldmann and Nigel Harman in Farewell Mister Haffmann [Mark Senior]

OPENING in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1942, Jewish jeweller Joseph Haffmann (Alex Waldmann) has sent his wife and children to Switzerland. He hands over his jewellery business, and his home, to his loyal employee, Pierre Vigneau (Michael Fox), and requests that he hide him in the cellar so that he can continue to manage the accounts.

Joseph doesn’t expect to be asked a favour in return. Pierre and his wife Isabelle (Jennifer Kirby) want to have a baby, but Pierre knows he is sterile. In desperation, Pierre asks Joseph to help his wife conceive. Joseph has fathered four children so, Pierre believes, his fertility is assured.

The strange trio manage to coexist during the dangerous months of occupation and the business thrives. Every month, as Joseph and Isabelle sleep together, Pierre tap dances as a distraction.

Jean-Phillipe Daguerre’s drama was a huge hit in France, winning four Molière Awards, and becoming a film in 2021. There’s nothing wrong with Jeremy Sands excellent translation and Oscar Toeman’s confident production, but Daguerre’s plot stretches our credulity.

Farewell Mister Haffmann works as a wartime thriller focusing on the bravery of a Parisian couple, but Pierre’s request strikes the first false note, while the occasional injection of humour is at odds with the play’s wartime setting.

The final act, when Pierre invites a Nazi officer, the art-loving German ambassador Otto Abetz (Nigel Harman) and his brash French wife Suzanne (Jemima Rooper) to dinner, ratchets up the tension but feels contrived.

The fact that Joseph decides to join them adds to this unexpected shift into melodrama.

Caveats aside, the solid performances are commendable and keep us engaged throughout. The five-strong cast drive Daguerre’s clunky plot to its satisfying, if slightly ambivalent, conclusion.

Until April 12
www.parktheatre.co.uk