I don't think I've read
more than one play since I was at school. Back then, it would have been
Shakespeare and I would have found the references that I didn't understand and
the language to be major barriers to enjoyment. Everything had to be explained
and I just didn't get it. To me it was always much better watching his work
brought to life on stage, which allows my mind to access it a little more.
The play I read in between
times was Sweetheart by Nick Grosso and it had the advantage that I'd already
seen it at the Royal Court. Very good indeed, both on stage and on the
page.
All My Sons was a lovely
surprise. I soon forgot that I was only reading dialogue and found and easy
rhythm, mostly because the play lures you in and keeps building the pace and
the drama.
It's a three act piece, each
set in the same place, that being the family home of the Kellers. They're in a
variety of messes and they all become untangled and further tangled in a short
space of time.
Joe Keller is an old man who
made it big during WW2 by profiting for the need to arm his nation. When issues
with the goods he was supplying were raised after a number of planes fell from
the sky, Joe and his partner were accused of killing the pilots. Joe got off
and his partner took the rap. It's a precarious situation as those in the town
aren't entirely convinced that justice has been done.
Joe's son, Chris Keller, has
his heart set on marrying the daughter of Joe's now imprisoned father. A
further complication is that she was once the sweetheart of Chris's brother who
was a pilot that went missing in action during the war. The tension here is
that Chris's mother has never acknowledged the possible death of her son and
expects him to come home any day.
Enter George, son of the imprisoned
partner and brother of Chris's prospective fiancée. George has just visited his
father and has had an epiphany what is about to rock the family’s not too
steady ship to the point where something will have to give.
Just outlining the story explains
too some extent the complexity of the piece. There are lots of strands and they’re
perfectly weaved together. We’re asked to consider a variety of issues as the
plot unfolds and the play becomes more uncomfortable as layers are either
peeled off or added.
My only reservation, me being a
creature of novels rather than scripts, is the way so much is packed into such
a short space of time. It feels unlikely that all of these strands would ever
come together, but I guess that’s due to the confines of staging a play and the
limitations that might bring. Even so, like adjusting to the format, this is
easy to overlook and I found myself racing to the end and, even though it
should have been predictable, I didn’t see it coming.
Having reached the final page, I
was left with a feeling that I’d been here before. Memory not being my
strongpoint, I checked it out and see that it’s also a noir movie which there’s
every chance I would have watched at some point and may well watch again if I
can find a way to do so.
It’s not a long read, but it’s a
rewarding one nevertheless.
The good news for me is that it
comes as part of a double-header and I’m looking forward to checking out A View
From The Bridge very soon.
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