Taking Sides (play)

Taking Sides is a 1995 play by British playwright Ronald Harwood, about the post-war United States denazification investigation of the German conductor and composer Wilhelm Furtwängler on charges of having served the Nazi regime. Harwood drew inter alia on a detailed diary kept by Furtwängler of his interrogation sessions. Although the investigation that is the focus of the play resulted in formal charges being brought against Furtwängler, he was eventually cleared by the tribunal.

The original West End theatre production was performed at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus, London. It starred Daniel Massey as Wilhelm Furtwängler and Michael Pennington as Major Steve Arnold. Massey was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in 1996 for his role as Furtwängler. Harwood was also nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play. The cast had originally performed the play at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester, which was directed by Harold Pinter. It premiered there on May 18, 1995. The play then transferred to the West End and premiered on July 3, 1995.

When the play transferred to Broadway for a limited run in 1996, Ed Harris took over the role of Major Steve Arnold, and Daniel Massey reprised his award-winning role as Wilhelm Furtwängler. The first of 15 previews of the production commenced on October 4, 1996, and the show officially opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on October 17, 1996. 85 performances of the play were shown before the production closed on December 29, 1996. For his performance in the role of Furtwängler, Massey was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play.

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