A riveting revival of Lyle Kessler's 1980s-set drama, Orphans, is currently holding audiences captive at London's intimate Jermyn Street Theatre. This peculiar gem of a play, directed by Al Miller, features an outstanding trio of actors grappling with a strange and unsettling hostage situation that transforms into a complex power struggle. The production runs until 24 January.
A Houdini-like intruder upends a fragile world
The drama unfolds in a beaten-up Philadelphia front room, masterfully designed by Sarah Beaton. Here reside two oddball, parentless brothers. The younger, Phillip (Fred Woodley Evans), is vulnerable and seemingly afraid to leave the house. His older brother, Treat (Chris Walley), is a voluble petty thief who maintains a tense control over their insular world.
The dynamic is shattered when Treat drags home a drunken stranger named Harold (Forbes Masson), whom he finds carrying valuable bonds. Seeing an opportunity, Treat decides to hold Harold for ransom, binding and gagging him. However, Harold is no ordinary victim. Exhibiting a Houdini-like cunning, he soon slips his bonds and begins to exert a quiet dominance, gradually becoming a sinister father figure to the orphaned brothers.
Power plays and unresolved tensions
Harold's presence acts as emotional kindling, profoundly disrupting the fragile relationship between Phillip and Treat. A man with his own childhood trauma from growing up in an orphanage, Harold sees a reflection of the "dead end kids" he knew in the brothers. He proceeds to groom them in opposing directions: encouraging the timid Phillip to finally venture outside, while attempting to shape the aggressive Treat into a more serious criminal.
Forbes Masson delivers a performance of quietly chilling potential, reminiscent of the menacing figures in Pinter's plays. His Harold is a catalyst for pent-up anger and ambition, brilliantly playing the brothers against each other. Chris Walley captures Treat's volatile mix of bravado and insecurity, while Fred Woodley Evans is heartbreakingly vulnerable as the sheltered Phillip.
A gripping yet incomplete drama
Despite the smart direction that expertly builds claustrophobia and tension, the play itself feels frustratingly incomplete. It teeters on the edge of surreal symbolism but doesn't fully commit, leaving several narrative threads and moments of unexplained bigotry unresolved. These elements, perhaps intended to reflect the hostile, blue-collar world of 1980s Philadelphia, are problematic features that simply go nowhere.
Ultimately, what makes this revival unmissable is the sheer power of the performances. The three actors make the outlandish scenario utterly believable, holding the audience breathless with their nuanced portrayal of vulnerability, manipulation, and desperate ambition. It is their exceptional work that transforms Orphans into a compelling, if flawed, theatrical experience.
