The Fathering - The Courtyard Theatre, london 15.10.1998

Review by Colin Nicholson - Camden New Journal

The Finnish playwright Jussi Wahlgren's play has all the intricacies of
plot and the dramatic moments that would grip a large audience, and yet it
is playing at a small fringe venue where the main advantage - intimacy -
begs to be exploited. Even the Finnish word for fringe (or off) theatre is
'intiimiteatteri'.

I do hope Wahlgren's play does make it to a bigger venue as it is a
ripping yarn. The description of this as a Finnish play is a misnomer as
Wahlgren almost certainly wrote the play in English, such is its pace and
tone.

A mother is determined that her disconsolate son succeeds as a concert
pianist. But when he calls in a piano tuner to avoid practicing he
uncovers the same obsession in his mother's past.
The backdrop to the mother's story is the Prague Spring '68 and the
reprisals and the recriminations that followed the arrival of the Russian
tanks. (As a Karelian - an eastern Finn - Wahlgren would be familiar with
stories of Russian invaders)

Although the actors pronunciation of Czech place names can be forgiven (it
is after all a language in which yuo can write a sentence without any
vowels) Erika Poole as the mother never really gives us that taste of real
central European passion which drives her to be so single-minded.

Kieran Buckeridge's Thomas is also slightly stylised, though, like Zazie
Smuts as Katarina, this goes with the part more. (As an actor / musician
Buckeridge plays the piano beautifully.) The bumbling Petr (Peter
Hamilton) is the only one who tended to underact his part.

But all gave very creditable performances in this performance of a highly
entertaining play. Pure theatre.
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Review by Colin Nicholson, The New Journal, London, 5.11.1998

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