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Two Character Play

Hampstead Theatre

Reviewed – 27th July 2021

★★★★

“Occasionally melancholic, always mesmerising, totally memorable. A masterpiece of theatre”

“To play with fear is to play with fire. No, worse, much worse, than playing with fire. Fire has limits.”

Tennessee Williams knew the importance of opening lines, and in “The Two Character Play” he captures the essence of what is to come. It is simultaneously reassuring and unsettling. It’s a theme that runs through much of his earlier writing, but in this later work it is much less opaque; we know the flame won’t be held back by the yellowing parchment through which we see it flicker.

In a way Williams was playing with fire. Rather than relying on his critical and popular acclaim he wanted to experiment and expand his writing style. It met with a mixed reception at its world premiere at the Hampstead Theatre, disconcerting critics and audiences. But over half a century later it definitely bites with a sharper resonance than ever before. The timing is perfect. A two-hander, we are introduced to Felice and then his sister Clare. They are both “artists of the theatre. Long prepared for working under unexpected conditions”. They have been abandoned by the rest of the company but are nevertheless determined that the show must go on despite the “eccentricities of the time”. Suffocated by their isolation and afraid to go out, the characters’ only choices are to face each other or to face their demons.

The structure is a play within a play, and Sam Yates’ production has perfectly captured this concept. As Felice and Clare prepare for their performance the houselights remain lit, the lighting rig is at floor level and the space is littered with the props and unassembled pieces of scenery. We don’t quite know when the pre-show ends and the show begins. Just as we are never sure of the shifts between the actors and their characters; whether we are in reality or in the play. Or in the play within the play. The blurred lines are always intentional, reflecting the brother and sister losing their own grip on reality.

Zubin Varla, as Felice, and Kate O’Flynn, as Clare, are outstanding and unforgettable. The chemistry burns and crackles with an enforced intimacy and horrific backstory that keeps them forever entwined. The fire of their performance is fanned by the many refreshing waves of comedy that they bring to the roles. It’s a skill that is rarely seen in theatre and Varla and O’Flynn wield it mercilessly through their wonderful shifts in mood, without diminishing the desperation that motivates their characters.

The second act dips into a darker domain. Lee Curran’s shadowy lighting and Dan Balfour’s surround sound design heighten the mood. A false ending trips us up and unfortunately dispels the magic momentarily as we slip into a flash of Gothic Horror. But the poignancy returns as the siblings (are they the actors or are they the characters they are portraying?) start to re-enact the tragedy that befell their parents.

They are unable to see it through. It is as unresolved as the play itself, and as the couple pull the plug on proceedings they are again alone on the bare stage. Their (imagined?) audience has also abandoned them, while they are imprisoned in the theatre. Too tired to be frightened now, they realise that fear is limited. “Clare, your mind’s going out” whispers Felice. Tennessee Williams was haunted and inspired by his sister Rose who was plagued by mental illness. “You must never make fun of insanity” Rose once reproved her brother “It’s worth than death”. In “The Two Character Play” Felice is left a note by the company that abandoned them: ‘Your sister and you are… insane!’. Perhaps they are, perhaps they aren’t. Varla and O’Flynn portray the characters with a perfect mix of exaggeration and sensitivity of which Williams would be proud. There is no answer really, just as the play has no real conclusion. We can part with reality at times, but we can never part with each other.

Occasionally melancholic, always mesmerising, totally memorable. A masterpiece of theatre.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Marc Brenner

Two Character Play

Hampstead Theatre until 28th August

Reviewed by Jonathan this year:

Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Hung Parliament | ★★★★ | Online | February 2021

Bklyn The Musical | ★★★★★ | Online | March 2021

Remembering the Oscars | ★★★ | Online | March 2021

The Picture of Dorian Gray | ★★★★ | Online | March 2021

Disenchanted | ★★★ | Online | April 2021

Abba Mania | ★★★★ | Shaftesbury Theatre | May 2021

Cruise | ★★★★★ | Duchess Theatre | May 2021

Preludes in Concert | ★★★★★ | Online | May 2021

You Are Here | ★★★★ | Southwark Playhouse | May 2021

Amélie The Musical | ★★★★ | Criterion Theatre | June 2021

Bad Days And Odd Nights | ★★★★★ | Greenwich Theatre | June 2021

Express G&S | ★★★★ | Pleasance Theatre | June 2021

Forever Plaid | ★★★★ | Upstairs at the Gatehouse | June 2021

Forgetful Heart | ★★★★ | Online | June 2021

Staircase | ★★★ | Southwark Playhouse | June 2021

The Hooley | ★★★★★ | Chiswick House & Gardens | June 2021

Be More Chill | ★★★★ | Shaftesbury Theatre | July 2021

Heathers | ★★★ | Theatre Royal Haymarket | July 2021

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★★★★★

“an ordinary play in so many ways, and yet it is simultaneously extraordinary”

Everything about The Son is arresting. It is difficult to watch and even harder not to.

This is the final play in Florian Zeller’s loosely connected familial trilogy, which began with 2012’s The Father. Here we join Anne (Amanda Abbington) and Pierre (John Light), a divorced couple who must reconnect for the sake of their only son. Nicolas (Laurie Kynaston) has been a completely different person since the divorce, and now Anne can no longer cope with his self-isolation, anger, or (as of late) truancy. Moving in with Pierre and his new girlfriend Sofia (Amaka Okafor) seems like the solution – but what was the problem to begin with? As Nicolas’ thoughts begin to unravel, so does his family’s belief in the son they thought they knew.

The Son is an ordinary play in so many ways, and yet it is simultaneously extraordinary. This is apparent even before the play begins. The sight of Lizzie Clachan’s set – a chic suburban living room flooded with symbolic pieces of debris – is enough to indicate the carefully constructed tumult that is to follow.

It is only afterwards that these objects (children’s toys, a mounted deer head) really strike the observer as important. This is because, for all the busyness on stage, it is the actors that draw all the focus. Laurie Kynaston is utterly believable as Nicolas. He stays clear of melodramatic clichés and instead pools the depths of Zeller’s writing to draw out an emotionally authentic character. John Light is fascinating to watch as Pierre, a flawed yet deeply caring father whose frustration manifests itself in uncomfortable ways. Despite the unsavoury aspects of his character, Light humanises Pierre, making his position understandable if not agreeable. Amaka Okafor transforms Sofia into a complex character, a woman who is both loving and resentful of her volatile stepson. Okafor surprises in every scene, and is able to navigate the twists and turns of her character with flair. There is strong support from Amanda Abbington, who is sadly not present enough throughout the story. When she is present, however, she radiates love and warmth, an ideal balance to Light’s ferocity.

Whilst Zeller is evasive about the details of Nicolas’ illness, he pulls no punches with how it is presented. He wrings every last drop of emotion from the scenarios he presents, investing every one with a subtly disarming twist. Zeller’s approach – to turn his characters inside out and hold them up for all to see – makes The Son all the more difficult to watch. There is a universal sense of pain here: this family is not particularly special, not marked by excessive trauma, but in many ways just ordinary, in a way that makes its dissolution even crueller. It is clear that Nicolas is surrounded by love, just not the right kind. And we as an audience know that it will never be the right kind – but we still fall in love with those moments of laughter and lightness that suggest it might be so. The vague accumulation of dread sits uneasily within these moments of joy in what is a true emotional test for even most disconnected audience member.

Beautifully and assuredly executed, The Son may mark a completion of a trilogy, but is surely the sign of many more great works to come.

Reviewed by Harriet Corke

Photography by Marc Brenner

Hampstead Theatre

Reviewed – 27th July 2021

★★★★

“Occasionally melancholic, always mesmerising, totally memorable. A masterpiece of theatre”

“To play with fear is to play with fire. No, worse, much worse, than playing with fire. Fire has limits.”

Occasionally melancholic, always mesmerising, totally memorable. A masterpiece of theatre.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Marc Brenner

Two Character Play

Hampstead Theatre until 28th August

Reviewed by Jonathan this year:

Duke of York’s Theatre

Reviewed – 3rd September 2019

★★★★★

“an ordinary play in so many ways, and yet it is simultaneously extraordinary”

Everything about The Son is arresting. It is difficult to watch and even harder not to.

Beautifully and assuredly executed, The Son may mark a completion of a trilogy, but is surely the sign of many more great works to come.

Reviewed by Harriet Corke

Photography by Marc Brenner

The Son

Duke of York’s Theatre until 2nd November

Previously reviewed at this venue:

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