Review: 'Fatherland'

by Daniel Hill

Frantic Assembly’s new production, Fatherland, premiered in Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre and has since found its way down to the Lyric Hammersmith in London where I was lucky enough to see it. The play is mainly verbatim, but does push the boundaries of this form by introducing a character who was not based on the real life interviews that the three playwrights performed. It is written by Scott Graham, Simon Stephens and Karl Hyde who interviewed a range of men from their hometowns, confronting them on the subject on Fatherhood. On stage, we see some of these interviews brought to life by the all male cast. It is directed by Scott Graham who is able to craft the scripts into a thought provoking performance.

The play repeatedly returns to Scott, Simon and Karl questioning various people who range from young adults to their own fathers which gives the audience a snapshot of the memories of their fathers, and what being a father means to them. What originally sounds somewhat unlike a lot of Frantic’s known work, such as Lovesong, Beautiful Burnout and more recently Things I know to be true, the audience are transported to their world with moments of unity between the cast, as well as mesmerising physical theatre which make Frantic Assembly who they are. The almost dance-like movements are paired with powerful choral chanting from the main cast along with the Chorus of Others, a group of volunteers who swarmed the theatre, which gave me goosebumps as I was watching the play.

The three actors playing the playwrights are good, but it is a few of the interviewees that stand out. David Judge plays the role of Daniel who gains a lot of sympathy from the audience, as we hear the story of his distance relationship with his father. His softer attitude towards the subject gives his portrayal a unique aspect in this production. Tachia Newall plays the role of Craig who has a young daughter of his own and Newall gains a lot of support from the audience throughout which is also added to by his vocals which are also brilliant. He conveys a real sense of understanding throughout his moments on stage. Craig Stein plays the role of Luke and by doing so breaks the rules of Verbatim Theatre. The questioning nature he provides to the piece gives it a sense of freshness. The chanting sound created by the combination of actors does give this piece a sense of unity as well as power. We are treated to this once again when leaving the theatre, as the Chorus of Others are chanting in the foyer.

The set itself is very basic, as we see just a metal rectangle connected to the revolver which helps the piece to move. This centerpiece holds both the ladder and two doorways which can be lifted out and are used throughout for many of the complex physical theatre movements which inject life into this piece. The technical aspects to the piece, both lighting and sound, are used effectively even though, the lighting especially, seems simple at times. The sound is more complex, as the music has been composed for the show and you are hit by it as soon as you enter the foyer of the theatre.

Stephens and Graham both have made it clear that they wanted to stray away from the rules of Verbatim and this in itself is very visible in Fatherland. One of the most intriguing and interesting parts of the script is the way in which is questions the reliability of Verbatim through the use of Luke, who, much like the playwrights themselves, has his own opinion on the untruthful nature of this art form.

Frantic Assembly have been given a fresh life through this piece which has remoulded Verbatim by combining physical theatre. Fatherland runs at the Lyric until the 23rd June, so be quick to book up tickets to this exciting piece of theatre!