A star-laden family play is the kind of thing you used to find at Theatre Royal Haymarket. In a strange reversal of fortune, one now turns up at this adventurous off-West End venue. But the important fact is that Andrew Keatley, in only his second full-length play, breathes new life into an old form.
The set-up is familiar: the first reunion in 17 years of a divided upper-class family to mark the 75th birthday of the patriarchal William. Since it is Easter 1997, just before a crucial general election, it is clear that the country is on the brink of change. But, although Keatley’s play has too many characters and lapses in the second half into formulaic duologues, it boasts two riveting figures. One is William himself, superbly played by Clive Francis, who has the graceless rudeness you often find among the super-privileged, but who is prey to vascular dementia and regrets. The other compelling character is Willam’s elder, autistic son. He is the one figure who tells the truth in a family of secrets and lies, and whom Nick Sampson plays with an extraordinary observant compassion.
The other striking feature of Antony Eden’s production is the casting of two sets of real-life parents and children. William’s long-suffering wife and mutinous daughter are played by Jane Asher and Katie Scarfe who, as you might expect, show an intuitive mutual understanding. Meanwhile, William’s kindly younger son and tradition-defying grandson are performed with comparable flair by Alexander and Tom Hanson. Although this might sound a bit cosy, it lends an instant plausibility to the family relationships.
More to the point is that Keatley accurately pins down the tensions within family life and records a moment of social transition. William, a law lord who behaves more like a warlord, is a monster who belongs to a deferential culture on the verge, one hopes, of extinction.
- At Park theatre, London, until 15 August. Box office: 020-7870 6876.
