[1] The National Theatre's production was directed by Tony Harrison and Bob Crowley; its cast included Jasper Britton as Nansen, Mark Addy as Hjalmar Johansen, Sian Thomas as Sybil Thorndike and Jeff Rawle as Gilbert Murray.
They travel from the Abbey to the theatre to begin the play, and it starts in the Arctic with Bob and his suicidal alcoholic companion Jeff trying to reach the North Pole.
Rhoda Koenig wrote, "Since the play stands up for poetry in a world dominated by fact and image, it's unfortunate that Harrison's verse does not provide much evidence for the defence".
[4] Michael Billington commented, "It hardly makes for a coherent whole, but it has exciting moments and a wild madcap inventiveness...He has bitten off more than any single play can chew and, dramatically, there are dead patches.
The Stage called it "a brilliant, brave, performance as a red-gowned Thorndike demonstrating the power of theatre to change minds by acting a starving Russian".