“Scanlon rises to the challenge authentically with a core belief in the character and her pain which is palpable.
“The Castle Hill Players bring quality amateur theatre to their community and this is the sort of theatre that is the grassroots of all our performing arts.”
“A wonderful way to see a great playwright’s work delivered with sincerity and (unlike Joe Keller) integrity..”“
Kate Stratford 3.5 /5 Shattered American Dreams
All My Sons was Arthur Miller’s first real theatrical success; although his criticism of war, war-profiteering and the American dream which lies at the heart of the play were the reasons he was called to appear before the House of Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s – when America was gripped by a fear of communism. In its time, it was a daring, risky powerful play and 75 years on has not lost any of its punch.
Wisely, director Jan Mahoney’s clear vision does not meddle with the master’s work in some post-modern desire to improve upon the perfect. Instead, she places the script in the hands of a capable cast and guides them to a faithful rendition. Designer Maureen Cartledge’s team gives them an American Dream house which owns the stage. Along with costuming (Lyn Jones) there are very high production values here, everything integral and nothing gimmicky. It seems Anette van Roden’s hand was in costumes, hair, make-up and props so much of the good judgement can be sheeted home to her. There is some minimal playing with sky projection which is light and precise and the sound and lighting design, whilst a little bumpy at first settled in to provide tonal support.
All My Sons is such a well-written, tight play that its dialogue still holds up today. In the first 20 minutes we know all we need to know about the background, the characters and the set-up through dialogue which is completely organic. It is powerful stuff and for the most part, handled well although the accents were a little wobbly and scattered. This is forgivable until they become unintelligible which happened during some confrontation scenes. One or two of the cast seemed also to struggle with projection and clarity and need to remember that projection is not shouting.
Nailing both accent and character was Leigh Scanlon as the matriarch Kate Keller. Miller has given any actor a wonderful character to play here, and Scanlon rises to the challenge authentically with a core belief in the character and her pain which is palpable. In many ways, Kate is the moral centre of the play; outwardly a simple, loving housewife who is as a considerable part of the American Dream as is Joe, her businessman husband. Much is this play is about Kate’s transformation. Over a period of 24 hours, she grows stronger and less introverted as she is forced into a state of truth and acceptance.
She is not the only one forced to come to terms with the truth. Her surviving son Chris (Julian Floriano), who Miller described as “capable of immense affection and loyalty”, has a hard journey to integrity. As Chris, Floriano grew in the role as the evening progressed, for some of the early nuances were a little lost. The physical signs of the ex-soldier bearing were inconsistent – veterans never lose that posture. With remarkable insight for the times, Miller explores the nature of PTSD as experienced by returned soldiers and gives Chris his own war story to share. This is such a pivotal moment in Chris’ story one could have wished for more space for this to breathe – a little more silence around it. Perhaps this could be built into future performances?
A rather De Niro styled Joe Keller was delivered by Dave Went in the protagonist role. For Joe, there is nothing more important than money and family and he refuses to accept in that in living, there could be something greater. Forced to accept responsibility for his actions, Joe takes the final way out. The word “compromise” is thrown around often in this play, as though to underscore the great American Compromise – integrity for monetary and social success. Joe is America – and in choosing death over honesty and responsibility, Miller make his most strident criticism.
If Joe represent America’s past, then Ann Deever represents the future. She is the truth-bearer and as such, is both naive and shrewd. Nicole Harwood gave depth to this, if not all the complexity that is encompassed in the character. Substantial performances were solidly delivered by most of the ensemble. Steve Rowe and Tracey Okeby Lucan (whose Ohio accents were on point) give us the disillusioned doctor and his grasping wife with great presence and Tess Needham as Lydia was surely the road not taken for George (a slightly melodramatic Dimitri Armatas). Daniel Boole’s gentle Frank was, at times unintelligible whilst Jayden Bishops’ Bert was a delight.
The Castle Hill Players bring quality amateur theatre to their community and this is the sort of theatre that is the grassroots of all our performing arts. Not everyone can afford a ticket – or the journey- to companies such as the STC. This is what theatre is really all about – passionate people bringing a quality theatrical experience at an affordable price to everyone. Especially those in outlier areas. So maybe, at times, the sense of the rhythm and timing of the play were a little erratic but you would have to invest a lot more time, money and effort to see anything better and I suspect if you do, it may not be worth your effort.
A wonderful way to see a great playwright’s work delivered with sincerity and (unlike Joe Keller) integrity.
Kate Stratford, Theatre Now
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