"Art can help us to know and understand people." Fathers and Sons, Donmar Warehouse

By Laura Darrall

I have never been able to be a cerebral critic; I recognise and appreciate technique and expertise in theatre but for me, as for most, if a show makes me cry with joy or sorrow then it is a winner in my book. Lyndsey Turner’s Fathers and Sons at the Donmar Warehouse did both of those things. Never have I witnessed such a fiercely political show, replete with complex manifestos and yet so full of poetry and heart. But then I guess that’s Brian Friel for you.

Fathers and Sons is a play of antithesis - torn between the young and the old, liberalism and nihilism, head and heart. Friel presents his actors with speeches of intense wordiness, spanning the entire lexicon of the Russian revolution, and this particular group of actors meet his challenge with vigour. Hamlet would have been a proud bystander as the words flowed “trippingly off the tongue,” with not an ounce of spittle in sight.

Special praise has to be given to Anthony Calf whose endearingly bumbling Nikolai, proclaimed mid-stutter how he “highly approved of oratory”; a simple yet cripplingly effective gag. There is not a weak link in this cast; each attacks their part as though it was their last show on earth.

Seth Numrich’s Bazarov, keeps the tension throughout, a character so forcible in his rejection of love and emotion - “I am immune to it”- that when it finally and inevitably envelopes him it is with a force so violent that, as an audience member, you find your nails pressed into your palms.

Joshua James, as the youthful and dapper Arkardy, has the air of a young Hugh Laurie - a charming romantic with a passionately political streak, although we are never sure as to whether the root of his politicism stems from his idolisation of Bazarov or whether he is in fact a true revolutionary. The final breakdown at the eventual loss of his friend is faultless and Turner beautifully frames it with the entire cast harmonising an old Russian folk song.

The ensemble are impenetrable and the scene changes flow seamlessly, with the entire cast involved in the push and pull. Rob Howell’s set consists of a rustic wooden panelling which cleverly folds to create various rooms and outdoor locations and the costumes are of a gloriously Victoriana style, adding a rural elegance to the piece.

Tim McMullan’s wonderfully haughty Pavel proudly exclaims: “Art can help us to know and understand people,” and this could not be truer than in this piece. Turner explores the depths of humanity in Fathers and Sons, pushing her actors to the limits and allowing them to show the audience true vulnerability at Friel’s “disorder in the proper order of things”: a son attending a father’s wedding and a father burying a son.

Father and Sons is playing at the Donmar Warehouse 5th June - 26th July

Click HERE for tickets and further information.

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