THE FORSYTE SAGA at Park Theatre

★★★★★

“flawlessly executed under Josh Roche’s stylish direction that adds a unique clarity to the sweeping story”

John Galsworthy’s “The Forsyte Saga” earned him the Nobel Prize for literature. Its epic chronicle of the leading members of an extended upper-middle-class Victorian family has understandably been adapted many times for cinema and television. It is a brave undertaking to adapt the extensive series of novels for the stage, especially for a society that, a century later, will undoubtedly balk at the societal norms embedded in the period. Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan have woven together the various strands of the story into a truly magnificent two-part stage play that presents the full meaning and intention of Galsworthy’s original with aesthetic truthfulness. While also allowing it to resonate with a thoroughly modern audience and still be relevant to the way we live our lives now.

First things first: the logistics. The two parts of the play are showing in rep. “Part 1: Irene” and “Part 2: Fleur”. On select days both parts can be seen back-to-back. The programme notes express the hope that ‘each play stands alone, but the experience is far richer if you see both’. More than a clever marketing ploy, the statement is partly true. Yes, they do stand alone (Part 1 more so than Part 2), but it’s not just a far richer experience – it is absolutely essential to see both. For the simple reason that they are both unmissable. What’s more – view them in the correct order. It’s a bit of a marathon coming in collectively at just under five hours, but every moment counts. The shift in the dynamics of the second part involves more investment from the audience, but the whole effect is one of a four act play rather than two independent two-act pieces (you’ll have a couple of hours in between so check out the delicious pizza they serve in the bar).

“The Forsyte Saga” is a male dominated story, yet from the outset this is subverted. The women are very much at its heart here. Pumping that heart is Fleur, played with a subversive passion by Flora Spencer-Longhurst. She introduces, narrates and guides us through the generations – initially the ghost of what is yet to come, but as the events catch up with her, she steps fully into the story. The device is flawlessly executed under Josh Roche’s stylish direction that adds a unique clarity to the sweeping story. Scenes overlap, and with little more than a turn of the head we are transported to a different time and location. Anna Yates’ set consists of nothing but a plush red carpet and matching velvet curtains that draw back to reveal the plain brickwork of the playing space. The vivid picture that the performers plant in our imaginations with such conviction ensures that the bare wall becomes a country house, the rolling countryside, a ballroom, a city street, the riverside… well, you get the picture.

Having got to grips with the multiplicity of characters, the main action follows Soames Forsyte (Joseph Millson). His newly acquired wealth and status give him a self-imposed right to want to own everything he sees, including his wife Irene (Fiona Hampton). Millson drags his character deeper and deeper into this delusional obsession with a remarkable performance that ultimately grabs our sympathy by the throat. Irene consistently gains the upper hand, resisting Soames’ grasping intention, and Hampton brilliantly draws us into her world of male entitlement that she refuses to submit to. The domesticity swiftly becomes uncomfortable to watch (remember that marital rape only became illegal in 1992). Yet everybody is a victim in their own way. Andy Rush as the tragic love interest of Irene encapsulates the snowballing effect of action and reaction.

Most of the cast multi-roll, and as the period shifts from the late nineteenth century to the nineteen-twenties in Part 2, the aging of the characters is passed on to other members of the company with a smoothness of transition that puts Doctor Who’s regenerations to shame. At times it is hard to reconcile the mind to the fact that only nine actors are portraying such a vast league of gentlemen and ladies. I would love to highlight each performance just as I would like to lay out each of the plot twists and turns, but in the interests of column-inches, I will instead simply urge you to discover it for yourself.

Except to say, though, that Spencer-Longhurst’s performance is the cornerstone. Barely offstage for five hours, her journey is epically moving. The daughter of Soames, she is a woman ahead of her time, childlike and mischievous but ultimately unable to escape her father’s gene pool. Forbidden love thwarted; she settles for Michael Mont (Jamie Wilkes in fine form as an escapee from P.G. Wodehouse). However, her love still lies with her cousin Jon (Andy Rush – unrecognisable from his other ill-fated characters). Here Spencer-Longhurst pulls out all the stops of her versatility as she crumples into a carbon copy of her father, with a desire to repossess Jon that borders on obsession and selfishness. The past is uncovered and tragically recycled. Roche’s staging again employs remarkable devices to enhance the poignancy, with Alex Musgrave’s lighting steering us towards a strikingly emotive climax. Likewise, Max Pappenheim’s compositions and sound design echo the journey made through time and through the characters’ swooping arcs.

We have travelled from 1886 to 1927 in the course of an afternoon and evening. Two plays, two generations. One company. To describe it as a period drama is a disservice. It crosses all ages. Within the Forsyte dynasty we see how each generation is the product of its time, but also the product of its predecessors. Watching it in 2024 we also get a sense of that indestructible link to our ancestors. We may like to think it is broken, but splinters still pierce the skin of our modern-day vulnerabilities. McKenna and Coghlan have skilfully and powerfully transposed an outdated and convoluted storyline into a modern and intimate theatre, finding both humour in the humourless and pathos in the unforgiving. In the hands of the excellent ensemble cast, it is a must see. You could get by on seeing just ‘Part 1: Irene’, or ‘Part 2: Fleur’. But don’t settle for merely ‘getting by’. Indulge yourself in the whole saga.

THE FORSYTE SAGA at Park Theatre

Reviewed on 19th October 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Mitzi De Margary

Previously reviewed at this venue:

AUTUMN | ★★½ | October 2024

23.5 HOURS | ★★★ | September 2024

BITTER LEMONS | ★★★½ | August 2024

WHEN IT HAPPENS TO YOU | ★★★★★ | August 2024

THE MARILYN CONSPIRACY | ★★★★ | June 2024

IVO GRAHAM: CAROUSEL | ★★★★ | June 2024

A SINGLE MAN | ★★★★ | May 2024

SUN BEAR | ★★★ | April 2024

HIDE AND SEEK | ★★★★ | March 2024

COWBOYS AND LESBIANS | ★★★★ | February 2024

HIR | ★★★★ | February 2024

LEAVES OF GLASS | ★★★★ | January 2024

THE FORSYTE SAGA

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★★★★

“the performances burn with an energy that transfixes throughout”

Since March, and I’m far from alone here, the only theatre I have been able to witness has been either beamed through a computer screen or, more recently, outside under our unpredictable skies. Consequently, one is bound to carry a heightened sense of expectation when returning to an indoor space for the first time. Any concerns, though, that these expectations are not reached are swiftly thwarted by HUNCHTheatre’s impassioned and inspired adaptation of Mikhail Lermontov’s “A Hero of Our Time”.

Having enjoyed critical success in Edinburgh and at the Arcola Theatre in 2018, it now comes to the Stone Nest: a former, nineteenth century Welsh Chapel tucked away on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue. From the eighties it was the home of the infamous Limelight Club until it became just a pub; but for the last decade has stood empty. Until now. With its Norman style gallery and grand dome, it seems an appropriate space for presenting the moody, melancholic thoughts of Mikhail Lermontov. “A Hero of Our Time”, Lermontov’s final prose work, focuses on the anti-hero Pechorin whose tragic demise foreshadowed the author’s own death during a duel.

The romanticism of the setting, however, is outweighed by the somewhat poor acoustics of the church. However, Oliver Bennett and Vladimir Shcherban’s adaptation is inventive enough to be able to dispense with the backdrop and rely purely on their dramatic achievement. The writing is skilfully modern, and the performances burn with an energy that transfixes throughout. Bennett, as Pechorin, embodies the nihilistic intensity mixed with the melancholic sensitivity of the Romantic hero. The rich tones of his voice frame the aphorisms that are sometimes unbearably cruel, but impeccably aimed to wound his intended target. It is often difficult to feel a real sympathy towards this kind of self-centred protagonist, but Bennett reels us in with his winning charisma.

James Marlowe as Grushnitsky, his long-suffering friend, gives as good as he gets as the two face each other off over the young Princess Mary. Initially the underdog, Marlowe’s stage presence gives a real stealth to the character that ultimately threatens to usurp the hero’s tragic status. The two actors create an electrifying bond; and caught in its crossfire is Florence Roberts who convincingly plays the two pivotal women: Princess Mary, the pawn in the game (but don’t underestimate the power of the pawn!) and Pechorin’s ailing ex-lover, Vera.

The lines are blurred between comedy and tragedy, between the past and the present; but it is clear that we are witnessing a vital piece of theatre here. It exposes the conflicting emotions of the characters as being universal. It is not always comfortable – like biting into a lemon. The bitterness is as immediate as the sharp language of the text. Marred only by a few moments of extraneous physicality, the offbeat and avant-garde permeates the production.

The irony, the insight, the fatalism, the humour, the violence and the love; all embedded in Lermontov’s original, have not been lost over time. This is a show that resonates today just as compellingly; and these actors are the heroes of our time.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

THE FORSYTE SAGA at Park Theatre

★★★★★

“flawlessly executed under Josh Roche’s stylish direction that adds a unique clarity to the sweeping story”

THE FORSYTE SAGA at Park Theatre

Reviewed on 19th October 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Mitzi De Margary

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE FORSYTE SAGA

THE FORSYTE SAGA

Stone Nest

Reviewed – 18th September 2020

★★★★

“the performances burn with an energy that transfixes throughout”

The irony, the insight, the fatalism, the humour, the violence and the love; all embedded in Lermontov’s original, have not been lost over time. This is a show that resonates today just as compellingly; and these actors are the heroes of our time.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

A Hero of our Time

Stone Nest until 19th September

Last ten shows reviewed by Jonathan: