Father and Sons ****

Donmar Warehouse
EXCERPT: "Afterwards, we dissected each character's motivations and actions thoroughly and I must admit that I left the discussion even more in awe of the play's ability to display recognisable and credible humanity."

Summary
Two young men arrive at a country estate, fresh from university: one, the son of the landowner, the other a brilliant and charismatic radical, proclaiming a dangerous new philosophy. But their warm welcome cools as the new house guest attacks the values of his hosts, bringing to the surface the tensions between one generation and the next.

Over the course of a summer, political ideals are tested by filial duty and the arrival of Anna, a mysterious visitor whose presence stirs the heart and threatens a friendship.

FATHERS AND SONS speaks of the heartbreak of being a parent and the terrible compromise of growing up. Lyndsey Turner returns to the Donmar to direct Brian Friel’s thrilling dramatisation of Turgenev’s masterpiece.

Thoughts
Lyndsey Turner's production of Brian friel's adaptation of Turgenev's Fathers and Sons oscillates between 4 and 5 stars. The acting is simply superb and makes the most of a fantastic script: characters, relationships and dialogue are brought to life with wit, sincerity, engaging pace. Afterwards, we dissected each character's motivations and actions thoroughly and I must admit that I left the discussion even more in awe of the play's ability to display recognisable and credible humanity. The depth of emotion explored is one thing, but the subtlety in which it is exposed is quite another. But though Turgenev can be thanked for the structure, and Friel's dialogue can be commended for its nuance, it was actors like Anthony Calf as Nikolai that really stood out. Calf kept the pace high and the good natured laughs coming, whilst never seeming anything other than entirely natural. And Seth Numrich as Bazarov managed to strike an extraordinarily fine balance: he managed to be big enough that we believed the others idolised him without becoming too self important or grandiose for the stage; and he had to believably show himself both refusing to cave to emotional influences and then happy to sacrifice everything he believed in for the love of a woman, only to then find solace with another woman mere minutes after being rejected and then engage in a duel he fundamentally disagreed with. He is a man of contradictory passions but what he engaged us, it never felt like a one man show - for he was only one of the deeply complex people Turgenev, Friel, and director Turner allow us to see.

Why have I given it 4 stars then? It's tricky. The first act was a five starrer, but it lost its steam a little as it went on. The potency of the piece is in the character study and when action became more central to the play's progression I feel it went off the boil a bit.