Theatre review: The Gathered Leaves at Park Theatre
The Gathered Leaves by Andrew Keatley at The Park Theatre Directed by Antony Eden Cast Jane Asher | Olivia Pennington Georgina Beedle | Emily Pennington Clive Francis | William Pennington Alexander Hanson | Giles Pennington Tom Hanson | Simon Pennington Amber James | Aurelia Ndjeya Nick Sampson | Samuel Pennington Katie Scarfe | Alice Pennington Anna Wilson-Jones | Sophie Pennington Hamish Brewster | Young Giles Pennington Oliver Buckner | Young Samuel Pennington - Credit: Photo by Mark Douet
This family affair feels oddly conventional, says Marianka Swain.
It’s a family affair, with real-life mother and daughter Jane Asher and Katie Scarfe joining Alexander Hanson and son Tom in Andrew Keatley’s – appropriately enough – family-centric saga.
Three generations of Penningtons have gathered for paterfamilias William’s 75th birthday, including estranged daughter Alice, who had an illegitimate, mixed-race child 17 years ago. Her return, combined with William’s vascular dementia diagnosis, leads to the spilling of secrets and gradual healing of rifts.
Keatley has crafted a defiantly old-fashioned piece: Edwardian drawing room play meets Radio 4 soap. There’s no experimental opacity or poetry, rather a steady stream of helpfully explained revelations. It’s like sitting in on an Ambridge therapy session.
The stuttering structure frustrates, particularly in Antony Eden’s stolid staging: some scenes are jarringly brief, others meander into repetition. Excising unnecessary previewing and reviewing of events would shorten the running time considerably, or provide room for surplus characters to develop stronger purpose. There are also threads left dangling, like a half-formed link between the family’s middle-class hypocrisy and ‘Tory sleaze’ – the play is, nominally, set in 1997.
Where Keatley succeeds is in his evocation of domesticity, unpacking the complications of rituals like games and the giving of gifts. Here, the potency of blood bonds is both empowering and stymying.
Nick Sampson provides a beautifully humane performance as autistic Samuel, and Alexander Hanson is touching as his put-upon, protective brother. Hanson Jr impresses as obnoxious Simon, Amber James is a buoyant presence and Clive Francis deftly locates autocratic William’s vulnerabilities, while Asher cracks the façade of his poised wife.
Most Read
- 1 Barnet: Three arrested as victim of fatal stabbing named
- 2 Spurs survive 'Lasagna-gate 2' and it's over to Arsenal
- 3 Man in his 30s stabbed to death
- 4 West Hampstead woman's kids' clothes success story
- 5 St John's Wood nursery 'requires improvement' after surprise Ofsted visit
- 6 Motorcyclist injured in Highgate Hill collision
- 7 Hampstead pharmacy under investigation over extra charges for prescriptions
- 8 'The law isn't important to us': Car tyres deflated by activists in Camden
- 9 Court: Disciplinary rules not followed in 'unfair' sacking, lawyer suggests
- 10 Tributes paid to Belsize 'man of many talents' who co-founded Abacus school
There’s compassion aplenty, with an emphasis on valuing individuals rather than being in thrall to tradition and dynastic legacy, but this is still an oddly conventional choice for an otherwise adventurous studio venue.
Rating: 3/5 stars